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Emerging Careers
By Emily Wengert,
Posted: 2007-01-30 12:55:58
Ever heard of steganography? How about genetic counseling? Maybe forensic nursing rings a bell? And what about life care planning? These careers all share one thing: Very few people know anything about them. Yet due to the exploding use of technology in our day-to-day lives, these careers promise to be in high demand for quite some time.
Genetics
Although genetic counseling has been around since the 1970s, "there are only about 2,000 of us in the country," estimates Beverly M. Yashar, Ph.D., MS.
Yashar, the head of the genetic counseling program at the University of Michigan, expects the career to come to the forefront in the next decade or two as the use of genetic testing increases.
The work is a perfect fit for someone looking for a science career with a personal side. A genetic counselor tries to help families make sense of genetic knowledge, helping to answer questions like "My mother died of breast cancer. How high is my risk that I'll develop the same disease?" or "My daughter has Tay-Sachs disease. Should I have another child?"
Genetic counselors, who must have master's degrees, can work in many places, including hospitals and research institutes, Yashar says. The field covers a broad range of topics from pediatrics to cancer and cardiovascular disease.
A related field to consider is pharmacogenetics, which is taught in schools of pharmacy and focuses heavily on research, considering questions like how medication can be adjusted based on genetic factors, or how introducing new genes might be used to treat disease.
The whole article
Thanks to Melanie and Sarah for sending it around. :-D
By Emily Wengert,
Posted: 2007-01-30 12:55:58
Ever heard of steganography? How about genetic counseling? Maybe forensic nursing rings a bell? And what about life care planning? These careers all share one thing: Very few people know anything about them. Yet due to the exploding use of technology in our day-to-day lives, these careers promise to be in high demand for quite some time.
Genetics
Although genetic counseling has been around since the 1970s, "there are only about 2,000 of us in the country," estimates Beverly M. Yashar, Ph.D., MS.
Yashar, the head of the genetic counseling program at the University of Michigan, expects the career to come to the forefront in the next decade or two as the use of genetic testing increases.
The work is a perfect fit for someone looking for a science career with a personal side. A genetic counselor tries to help families make sense of genetic knowledge, helping to answer questions like "My mother died of breast cancer. How high is my risk that I'll develop the same disease?" or "My daughter has Tay-Sachs disease. Should I have another child?"
Genetic counselors, who must have master's degrees, can work in many places, including hospitals and research institutes, Yashar says. The field covers a broad range of topics from pediatrics to cancer and cardiovascular disease.
A related field to consider is pharmacogenetics, which is taught in schools of pharmacy and focuses heavily on research, considering questions like how medication can be adjusted based on genetic factors, or how introducing new genes might be used to treat disease.
The whole article
Thanks to Melanie and Sarah for sending it around. :-D