> Google Genomics. Careers link.
> Microsoft Genomics. Careers link.
Google and Microsoft probably know how to make software?
Side note: why does this page have user-select: none on body? It's annoying; what does it accomplish?
Consider working on genomics
41–50 of 299 posts
Re: Consider working on genomics
#42I hope this FAANG downturn will push software engineers to new industries, and bring some cross-pollination.
What happens when the world's most brillant minds do something else than making us click on more ads ?
Re: Consider working on genomics
#43Earlier quoted context omitted.
Ever since the pandemic, many software engineers have become exactly the type of "I've got mine, Jack" people they typically deride.
Or, and hear me out here for a second, people go where they’re most valued. Why would someone volunteer to go work somewhere where they’ll get less money, have less flexibility, be treated as second-class employees, have less work perks, etc. when so many alternatives exist? Doubly so in this economy. Maybe genetic companies should catch up in workplace etiquette instead of recommending that SWE’s lower their expecta…
At least one of the entities on that list is a nonprofit academic institution. Expecting pay equal to the standard software industry is misguided.
Whether or not that's a tradeoff you're willing to make is another question.
Re: Consider working on genomics
#44Several of the job boards linked don't have any job listings, most don't provide a salary range, several require advanced degrees, and none specify whether remote work is possible. If I can get a better salary and working conditions at some crappy no-name startup, why would I choose to work at an organization that respects my craft so little they haven't bothered to maintain their software for a decade?
I think your phrase here sums up how many people feel: > why would I choose to work at an organization that respects my craft so little they haven't bothered to maintain their software for a decade This is changing in my experience, albeit slowly. And really, this is what I'm calling on us, as a community, to do better on. The reason you _would_ work at these organizations is because (1) the subject-matter is really…
I think what I'd ask is:
Will I be allowed to fix the parts that result in
> an organization that respects my craft so little
Like, it's one thing if they haven't - that can be fine, it's just more work. It's an entirely different thing if they won't.
Re: Consider working on genomics
#45Genomics is still predominantly a research field. In research, software development and hence software engineers are not valued much, because technologies change rapidly, new ideas come every day, so it is about being able to hack together a workable solution enough to write a paper or get funding.
Software development becomes important when certain data processing methods have been standardised, eg mapping sequencing data to mouse or human genome, differential expression analysis, pca visualisations.
Re: Consider working on genomics
#4620 years ago I got interested in "bioinformatics." I loved learning something about molecular biology, after all those years of hearing about DNA and not understanding it. And "Molecular Biology of the Cell" is, hands down, the greatest textbook ever written. That said: a lot of the comments are spot on. You're working in a field where the hard scientists and business people rule and you're a helper. Maybe they're gr…
> That said: a lot of the comments are spot on. You're working in a field where the hard scientists and business people rule and you're a helper
This definitely was the culture when I started working in the field 6 years ago. However, the culture has shifted (at least where I work) to where biologists and engineers are equal partners that work together on solving these problems. For those organizations that are not this way, I think they’re going to have to change if they want to innovate.
Re: Consider working on genomics
#47> Google Genomics. Careers link. > Microsoft Genomics. Careers link. Google and Microsoft probably know how to make software? Side note: why does this page have user-select: none on body? It's annoying; what does it accomplish?
Google Genomics is now aka Google Cloud Life Sciences. There's also their sister company Verily that operates in this space.
Re: Consider working on genomics
#48I hope this FAANG downturn will push software engineers to new industries, and bring some cross-pollination. What happens when the world's most brillant minds do something else than making us click on more ads ?
Exactly my thoughts, and what I hope this post makes some consider.
Re: Consider working on genomics
#49Google already axed all job offers, Microsoft and AWS are searching student interns...
I used to work in genomics and computational biology. It was incredibly interesting. But it's university research and gets paid as such. 2-year time-limited contracts, lots of interns and students, extremely low salaries.
Re: Consider working on genomics
#50Several of the job boards linked don't have any job listings, most don't provide a salary range, several require advanced degrees, and none specify whether remote work is possible. If I can get a better salary and working conditions at some crappy no-name startup, why would I choose to work at an organization that respects my craft so little they haven't bothered to maintain their software for a decade?
In general salaries would be lower than what you can get in a standard software role. Some of the ones on that list allow remote work, others are more limited. The tradeoff is that you're working towards the betterment of humanity. Whether or not that's worth the tradeoff for you is a personal decision.
"How high are you on trait agreeableness"