Is $20 per hour as a bio-lab tech fresh out of college a good job for a newly graduated biochemistry major?

Question

I never made that much money in my life so I am still in shock, but some people are saying that I am underpaid. Am I? Any real life experiences and advice is greatly appreciated here. Thank you

Answer 1

$20 an hour means over $40,000 a year. If it comes with a good benefit package, like vacation and medical insurance, it is a good job for anyone with BS degree. I bet it is not a university job.

Answer 2

20 an hour is great for anyone! Just think. The more experience you get the more money you'll get! Yay!

Answer 3

No.  It is too high.  You better hope you still have the job in 6 months.

Answer 4

That is a great starting salary, especially since you only have a BS or BA. You will be limited in how much that salary can grow though since you have limited experience and mostly because you only have an undergraduate degree. You are not underpaid, but some companies pay more upfront but what no one ever tells those employees is that they will certainly never get a raise.  A number of undergraduates that I have known over the years have gone on to biotech with only undergraduate degrees and make about 40-50k max. Someone with a masters will get 50k minimum as a start with no real ceiling in terms of pay since they can move to management within the company.

Answer 5

HECK YES!!! Take advantage of that situation.  Considering the fact that you only have academic experience and no industrial experience, having a starting salary of $20/hr (or $38,400/yr) isn't that bad.

Answer 6

that's about average starting pay for industry jobs for "biotech areas" (like southern california)

i know people who are technicians who "only have a bachelor's degree" and make 80K+ just because they happen to have working experience.

so if you're good at what you do, are proactive about negotiating raises and promotions, and manage not to p**s anyone off (you'll be surprised about lab politics) you're going to do ok in industry.