Doing a BSc in Biochemistry in Kenya has its own pros and cons. This article is meant to give guidance to a high school graduate who is still figuring out what to do career-wise. It’s based on experiences Kenyan graduates have had. Over the past two weeks, LinkedIn has posted 4,000 jobs that need someone who has done a BSC in Biochemistry. Half of them are from the biotechnology industry and nearly half of the pharmaceutical companies. The rest are from the hospital healthcare, staffing and recruiting, higher education, medical devices, health, wellness and fitness, food and beverage industries. None of them are from Kenya. “Science in Kenya is not appreciated” saying is true. I would give a summary of my biochemistry class of 2018. A Little background: As a class in a small university that was given a charge recently and majorly having engineering students (Technical University of Kenya), we were enrolled 21 of us. We were government students with one sponsored student who also had an A- (71–80 points). It took us four years with Di-semesters. We had two long holidays. The other two were for an internal attachment and a compulsory external attachment. During the course duration, three students dropped out for various reasons including fee. Out of the ones who completed the 4-year coursework, one failed, two lagged behind and another couldn’t get an attachment so that never graduated. One graduated a year later. Getting an attachment in Kenya is already a task; FIRST BIOCHEMISTRY OBSTACLE Most people who hear the word biochemistry think it’s a mixture of biology and chemistry and think that these people will qualify to be teachers which is absolutely wrong. TSC needs guys who have done an education course so as to qualify for a Biology/ Chemistry teacher, one needs a diploma/degree in education. Then one’s who knows that “it is the study of the chemistry of life” term it as hard, especially when studying as a unit in the med lab, medicine, nursing, and other biological sciences courses. They often wonder how one could survive a whole five years if one semester dreads them. What’s the truth? Biochemistry is the branch of science that explores the chemical processes within and related to living organisms. It is a laboratory-based science that brings together biology and chemistry. At the moment we are in the business of telling you what happens if you graduate with a bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry. However, from my class, only two students were not tempted to cheat. (Mwakenya). The two students got a second class upper just in case you are wondering. They weren’t stressed out about passing but understanding. They lived a day at a time. The good news is that it is manageable if one is passionate. Three months after graduating, about 5 of them got placements in Med-Repping or rather as Medical representatives. This is a nice word for salespersons in medical companies especially pharmaceuticals. The entry pay is about Ksh. 30,000 plus commissions depending on the sales and the company. One got an internship in a government parastatal, while another got connected to a contractual position in an international research institute under the Chemistry department which pays about Ksh. 50,000. What happened to the rest? The once “Biochemistry group” made in September 2014 when we hardly knew each other has been renamed to the “Hustle is real”. It has been inactive for the past nearly two years. Most of them haven’t been on internships because getting a simple internship with no pay is near to a dream. Most of them are not practising the glycolysis cycles they crammed. The last time they were in the laboratory was when their mostly microbiology-based projects we’re giving them a headache and making them broke. Why? You ask. Biochemistry competes with other biological courses in the small market (Med rep, Quality analyst/officer, Research Assistant) in Kenya. To be a lab technician in a public institution, you need a diploma and as much as you keep applying, they don’t accept degree graduates. To work in the lab, either government or private, one needs a KMLTTB license. To get the license to need a diploma/degree in medical lab sciences. You can only work in a research lab which some need the license too. I was with them. They understand biochemistry and eligible for the job market but instead, they are “hustling here and there” (most common response). About five have considered higher education so as to teach or at least get a placement in a private or international research Institutions and only two know exactly what they want to study and one has started. Others considered scholarships but none came through. Somehow l, one still needs money to apply for a scholarship (application fees and tests?). Away from our class, most biochemistry graduates from all over Kenya are still jobless or doing something not related to their jobs. When I was a first-year, a lady opening my bank account said to me, “Wow, you are doing a biochemistry course. I also did that. I wish you a luck. Most of my friends are not practising it. The lucky biochemistry graduates get jobs in other sectors and forget they ever had a science degree." During one of my numerous internships, a first-class graduate from Kisii University (biomedical) was surviving in Nairobi doing an unpaid internship. I wondered, I thought first class graduates are given a scholarship with a graduate assistant job in Kenyan universities, he said biological science graduates are hardly given that. I shrugged since I was just two years in the course until we had graduated. None of the graduates even in the sister courses got a scholarship. Too many cons. The pros are like getting into science research if one is able to pay for their tuition and project fees for masters. One may get a sponsored project or a funded PhD project in one of the international research institutes. One may even get a scholarship abroad and excel in the science field. If you are keen, I didn’t mention government-related opportunities because they don’t exist. If you have money and love biochemistry (as I do), don’t shy away from enrolling in the biochemistry course and spend 10 or more years to be a scientist. The years are less if you choose the bioinformatics path. If you come from a poor background, pray hard and hopefully get support from people to get a scholarship and you will be just fine outside Kenya. Jobs will be calling you with go the bioinformatics way. If you are not passionate about science, kindly change your course to something you love. Research about courses and the Job market before getting into one. In Kenya, you survive in the job market especially government jobs if you have a diploma. Degrees are mostly not welcome by the government of Kenya as much as they sponsor part of your fee. Jobs are their problem is there aren’t qualified people for that. If you still want to work in the lab, start with a diploma/degree in a medical lab, and go up. Otherwise, look for opportunities outside Kenya. (Shared on behalf of a colleague with their full authorization.)

Doing a BSc in Biochemistry in Kenya has its own pros and cons. This article is meant to give guidance to a high school graduate who is still figuring out what to do career-wise. It’s based on experiences Kenyan graduates have had. Over the past two weeks, LinkedIn has posted 4,000 jobs that need someone who has done a BSC in Biochemistry. Half of them are from the biotechnology industry and nearly half of the pharmaceutical companies. The rest are from the hospital healthcare, staffing and recruiting, higher education, medical devices, health, wellness and fitness, food and beverage industries. None of them are from Kenya. “Science in Kenya is not appreciated” saying is true. I would give a summary of my biochemistry class of 2018. A Little background: As a class in a small university that was given a charge recently and majorly having engineering students (Technical University of Kenya), we were enrolled 21 of us. We were government students with one sponsored student who also had an A- (71–80 points). It took us four years with Di-semesters. We had two long holidays. The other two were for an internal attachment and a compulsory external attachment. During the course duration, three students dropped out for various reasons including fee. Out of the ones who completed the 4-year coursework, one failed, two lagged behind and another couldn’t get an attachment so that never graduated. One graduated a year later. Getting an attachment in Kenya is already a task; FIRST BIOCHEMISTRY OBSTACLE Most people who hear the word biochemistry think it’s a mixture of biology and chemistry and think that these people will qualify to be teachers which is absolutely wrong. TSC needs guys who have done an education course so as to qualify for a Biology/ Chemistry teacher, one needs a diploma/degree in education. Then one’s who knows that “it is the study of the chemistry of life” term it as hard, especially when studying as a unit in the med lab, medicine, nursing, and other biological sciences courses. They often wonder how one could survive a whole five years if one semester dreads them. What’s the truth? Biochemistry is the branch of science that explores the chemical processes within and related to living organisms. It is a laboratory-based science that brings together biology and chemistry. At the moment we are in the business of telling you what happens if you graduate with a bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry. However, from my class, only two students were not tempted to cheat. (Mwakenya). The two students got a second class upper just in case you are wondering. They weren’t stressed out about passing but understanding. They lived a day at a time. The good news is that it is manageable if one is passionate. Three months after graduating, about 5 of them got placements in Med-Repping or rather as Medical representatives. This is a nice word for salespersons in medical companies especially pharmaceuticals. The entry pay is about Ksh. 30,000 plus commissions depending on the sales and the company. One got an internship in a government parastatal, while another got connected to a contractual position in an international research institute under the Chemistry department which pays about Ksh. 50,000. What happened to the rest? The once “Biochemistry group” made in September 2014 when we hardly knew each other has been renamed to the “Hustle is real”. It has been inactive for the past nearly two years. Most of them haven’t been on internships because getting a simple internship with no pay is near to a dream. Most of them are not practising the glycolysis cycles they crammed. The last time they were in the laboratory was when their mostly microbiology-based projects we’re giving them a headache and making them broke. Why? You ask. Biochemistry competes with other biological courses in the small market (Med rep, Quality analyst/officer, Research Assistant) in Kenya. To be a lab technician in a public institution, you need a diploma and as much as you keep applying, they don’t accept degree graduates. To work in the lab, either government or private, one needs a KMLTTB license. To get the license to need a diploma/degree in medical lab sciences. You can only work in a research lab which some need the license too. I was with them. They understand biochemistry and eligible for the job market but instead, they are “hustling here and there” (most common response). About five have considered higher education so as to teach or at least get a placement in a private or international research Institutions and only two know exactly what they want to study and one has started. Others considered scholarships but none came through. Somehow l, one still needs money to apply for a scholarship (application fees and tests?). Away from our class, most biochemistry graduates from all over Kenya are still jobless or doing something not related to their jobs. When I was a first-year, a lady opening my bank account said to me, “Wow, you are doing a biochemistry course. I also did that. I wish you a luck. Most of my friends are not practising it. The lucky biochemistry graduates get jobs in other sectors and forget they ever had a science degree." During one of my numerous internships, a first-class graduate from Kisii University (biomedical) was surviving in Nairobi doing an unpaid internship. I wondered, I thought first class graduates are given a scholarship with a graduate assistant job in Kenyan universities, he said biological science graduates are hardly given that. I shrugged since I was just two years in the course until we had graduated. None of the graduates even in the sister courses got a scholarship. Too many cons. The pros are like getting into science research if one is able to pay for their tuition and project fees for masters. One may get a sponsored project or a funded PhD project in one of the international research institutes. One may even get a scholarship abroad and excel in the science field. If you are keen, I didn’t mention government-related opportunities because they don’t exist. If you have money and love biochemistry (as I do), don’t shy away from enrolling in the biochemistry course and spend 10 or more years to be a scientist. The years are less if you choose the bioinformatics path. If you come from a poor background, pray hard and hopefully get support from people to get a scholarship and you will be just fine outside Kenya. Jobs will be calling you with go the bioinformatics way. If you are not passionate about science, kindly change your course to something you love. Research about courses and the Job market before getting into one. In Kenya, you survive in the job market especially government jobs if you have a diploma. Degrees are mostly not welcome by the government of Kenya as much as they sponsor part of your fee. Jobs are their problem is there aren’t qualified people for that. If you still want to work in the lab, start with a diploma/degree in a medical lab, and go up. Otherwise, look for opportunities outside Kenya. (Shared on behalf of a colleague with their full authorization.)