Scope of Bioinformatics: India or Abroad – Which is Better Option?

Bioinformatics is the latest emerging scientific field that integrates information technology and biological sciences. It is catching the attention of young minds due to its newness and future perspectives.

It is a promising career for enthusiast learners. Want to know how? Here we bring you this blog that focuses on the career choices it offers to bioinformaticians in India and abroad.

Scope of Bioinformatics in India

India is the newbie in Bioinformatics and the hub of all kinds of knowledge- cell biology, biochemistry, plant, and animal physiology. Bioinformatics being the latest addition, has a long way to traverse here.

The pre-existing information in other science fields is beneficial to new bioinformaticians. It helps in laying the foundation job.

Institutions

Many universities have started to pay attention to the relevance of this subject. There are plenty of good institutions that can guide you correctly and impart rightful knowledge about it. Well-known universities that offer the course are mentioned below.

Gaining advanced programming skills in C++, Python, R, and MATLAB are prerequisites for building a career. A depth understanding of bioinformatics tools, software, and their usage is an additional bonus.

Careers

The scope of bioinformatics in India is immense. Every established laboratory requires at least one or more expert bioinformaticians for handling the biological data analysis job. Several positions offered to bioinformaticians are mentioned below.

  • Data analyst
  • Pharmacologist
  • Software Developer
  • Scientific researcher
  • Professor/lecturer

Each of these positions comes with prestigious social status and a moderate annual salary package.

Salaries

The salary can vary between entry-level job seekers and experienced people. For data analysts, it is up to 3-4 LPA, for programmers, it ranges between 4-6 LPA, and for high-grade scientists, it is between 7-10 LPA.

The salary is expected to increase with the years of experience and knowledge gained about bioinformatics. Most interesting of all, if you have the passion to teach, you could be an eminent lecturer or professor with ample takeaway home salary.

Key Highlight

Overall, India provides the best cheap resources for learning bioinformatics. Students having a passion to serve the country can study and find suitable jobs in India. Also for financially weaker students, it is fair to give shots here and brighten their careers.

The integration of technology and data influx is expected to increase in every science domain in the next 20 years. Thus, the scope of bioinformatics in India is promising.

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Scope of Bioinformatics in Abroad

Countries other than India, specifically developed nations have already dwelled deeper into bioinformatics. They are far beyond in research and scientific developments compared to unaware nations.

For example, the NCBI, EMBL, and DDBJ like repositories, were established by foreign institutions decades ago. They are a source of information retrieval to the worldwide scientific community.

Institutions

Many world-renowned universities have given life and shape to bioinformatics. Most of the latest and advanced bioinformatics tools have been developed in foreign research laboratories. The credit goes to high-tech research facilities and institutions.

Globally, acclaimed universities that are home to top-class bioinformaticians are mentioned below. These are enriched with the best faculties and bioinformatic research facilities.

  • Technical University of Munich
  • The University of Queensland
  • University of Auckland
  • University of Manchester
  • South Dakota State University
  • University of Toronto
  • Harvard University and many more

The institute provides professional expertise and advanced knowledge to its students about bioinformatics as a subject. Hands-on experience to develop own software to resolve a biological problem.

Careers

Bioinformatics in computation-intensive work. It demands fast, accurate, and high throughput-generating systems. Abroad developed nations are laced with the best and most recent technologies. Learning those skills could propel your career in the right direction.

Along with earning a Ph.D. degree, you can already have a career as the following

  • Research Assistant
  • Guest lecturer
  • Scientific writer

After gaining the Ph.D. degree, one could apply for postdoctoral positions or they could also settle for a career in the following mentioned positions.

  • Senior Scientist
  • Data analyst
  • Data mining scientist
  • Bioinformatics programmer
  • Professor/lecturer
  • Pharmacologist
  • Computational biologist

It is quite expected that job opportunities for bioinformatics are better abroad. The salary packages are very good. But the number of applicants is overwhelming, thus the tough competition between aspirants.

Salaries

Salary is worth consideration here. Most Ph.D. scholars are paid between 24,000 USD to 30,000 USD per year. This can vary from country to country. The freshers are expected to be paid in a similar way.

Experienced candidates have better opportunities with a little higher pay and living conditions. The senior scientists earn up to 40,000 USD. The professors earn between 50,000 USD to 60,000 USD per year. There may be variations between the US, UK, Germany, Japan, Canada, Australia, and so on.

To summarize this, developed nations provide the best, most expensive, high-tech facilities for carrying out bioinformatics research. They are already reaching new heights every day. The next few years are bright for the scope of bioinformatics.

Key Highlight

Bioinformatics has a very wide scope for jobs abroad. It is challenging to grab a position and compete against the world’s best candidates. The living expenses are high. Decent money-making is possible if you have the right skill set, knowledge, and eagerness to work hard.

Top Hiring companies for Bioinformaticians

The most popular hiring firm is AstraZeneca Research Center. Every year thousands of graduates and post-graduates are hired. Other Indian and international companies that hire include the following.

  • Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories
  • Ranbaxy
  • Bison
  • Celera Genomics
  • Torrent Pharmaceuticals
  • Avestha Gengraine Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
  • Novadiscovery
  • Cytel
  • Wipro
  • AbbVie
  • Jazz pharmaceuticals and many more

We hope this article provides you with a clear insight into the scope of bioinformatics in India and abroad. Choosing between them can be delusional. Just look at your possibilities and match them up with the available options at both places.

In my opinion, first, learn in India, gain experience, increase knowledge, and then try for better opportunities abroad.

Kickstart your career right away in bioinformatics!