Forum:I'm applying for a non-PhD bioinformatics position in your lab. What do you look for?

Question

[scical]

I've been lurking here for years and I'd like to cover a topic that isn't covered that much.

Bioinformatics is a tough field to not have a PhD. Nonetheless, research positions do exist where only a bachelors is required and research experience is also stated as between 0-2 years. I'd like to give a hypothetical situation that describes a good percent of such applicants to these positions. The motivation here is to survey what are ultimately core requirements for these positions and what is maybe considered "bells and whistles".

I'm fresh out of college and I have a BS and/or Masters in Bioinformatics along with ~two years research in a lab. I'm applying to your lab, what are you looking for? And what requirement(s) can you excuse or not weight that heavily?

Edit. Sort of a related question, is requiring knowing hadoop and also the biochemistry/biophysics behind RNA-seq at the same time an outrageous expectation for a non-Phd?

[Cliff Beall]

We have had some undergrad/bachelors level bioinformaticians make some nice contributions and get published in our lab. They did not have much in the way of specific prerequisites, more just being smart and a willingness to hack.

By the way, if you're in Ohio or willing to move, we might want to talk to you :).

Answer 1

[Jeremy Leipzig]

1. GitHub repos
2. Blog
3. Papers
4. Biostars activity

Hadoop is a ridiculous requirement for a binf job posting - it's been a big disappointment to bioinformatics so far. Every time someone says how great Hadoop is they point to the same three or four proof-of-concept papers. Would much rather have someone good with plyr and snakemake.

Answer 2

[Damian Kao]

Can you push a project forward, write and publish a paper with minimal help? That's what labs look for. It sounds a bit jaded and cynical, but an academic career is all about delivering a product (publications) with enough quality to pass peer review. You weigh how much and what kind of work you put in with the journal that will accept it and what your political ties are that will influence the publication decision.

Show that you can come up with a project proposal. Include a time-line of what you will do and accomplish. Set a goal publication deadline. Being smart and capable is a dime a dozen. You have to show you can utilize your skills to publish.

Answer 3

[eonsim]

For a non PhD role in bioinformatics it's likely you'll end up doing a mix of code, pipeline development, data processing, some analysis and cluster/computer support/management. For smaller groups this may include running a small cluster where you'll be doing most of your work, in both the current lab I'm in and the previous corporate research group it's unlikely you would even be considered with out the following:

1. Familiar with Linux/Unix or OSX (able to install if needed and install additional software)
2. Familiar with the command line
3. Ability to write basic code in at least 1 programming language
4. Good communication skills, you are going to have to explain clearly what, why and how you did any data processing
5. Ability to work independently
6. A basic knowledge of the field of Biology you will be working in
7. A proven ability to learn

There are a lot of other things that would help as well, but may not be critical to getting the role assuming you can learn as you go:

1. Basic ability to administer a cluster
2. Programming/scripting with at least Bash, R/Python + some knowledge of one of Java, C, C++ or other major language and SQL
3. Familiar with one source control system
4. Knowledge of the major various Informatics resources EBI/NCBI etc
5. Familiar with cluster software SLURM/SGE or one of the many others
6. Basic knowledge of statistics

Answer 4

[Christian]

I think non-PhD bioinformaticians fit into larger bioinformatics core facilities, where they are involved with developing bioinformatics pipelines, tools, databases, Web services, and the like. For more research-oriented positions, like you will find in most smaller labs, I think a PhD is a must, as these positions will require tight interaction with biologists/experimentalists, up-to-date knowledge of the literature, a deep understanding of the research project, grant/paper writing, and of course the ability to push projects forward independently.