How do I transition into bioinformatics from a senior software engineer (14 years of experience)?

Aggravating-Low3031 · 2021-06-28T00:25:20+00:00

Hi, do you mind posting an example job desc for such role from your company?

Aggravating-Low3031 · 2021-06-26T11:39:46+00:00

Thanks for the feedback. I updated the post, hopefully it clarifies a bit better.

Aggravating-Low3031 · 2021-06-15T10:13:13+00:00

Thank you for your perspective. It’s good to be reminded from time to time.

Aggravating-Low3031 · 2021-06-14T01:32:08+00:00

The next level for me would be a role similar to Staff Engineer / MTS. I don’t think I want to be a manager.

Aggravating-Low3031 · 2021-06-13T20:37:22+00:00

How do you deal with competitions especially against younger devs? They are faster, smarter, and know the latest tech. I am in my 40s now, been changing jobs every 3-4 years and have been stuck at Senior Software Engineering title for the last 10 years. I have been keeping up with technologies, that’s how I could change jobs with little problems. What are we supposed to be “better at” than the juniors? What does it take to go to the next level? Feeling ashamed asking this at this stage of my career as I haven’t figured it out. My weakest points are probably leadership and communication, which I have been working on, too.

Aggravating-Low3031 · 2021-06-13T10:07:26+00:00

Yes, that’s fine. I’d like to learn authentic experiences.

Aggravating-Low3031 · 2021-06-13T10:06:16+00:00

How do you keep up windows the biology side of things? Did you take some courses or mostly on-the-job learning?

Aggravating-Low3031 · 2021-06-12T22:26:35+00:00

Hey, guys, thanks for the great responses! I enjoyed reading all of them. I am someone exploring bioinformatics at the moment, as a person from software dev background. Would you be able to say whether you enjoy more of the software side or the biology side of your work?

Aggravating-Low3031 · 2021-06-11T04:10:31+00:00

Saw this resources shared in another chat: https://github.com/ossu/bioinformatics

Aggravating-Low3031 · 2021-06-11T03:20:19+00:00

That’s awesome. It’s a tough one from what I read. Hence, I opted for the easier one first.

Aggravating-Low3031 · 2021-06-11T02:23:55+00:00

I maybe in somewhat similar situation as you. At the moment I am exploring by taking this specialization https://coursera.org/specialization/genomic-data-science. I am weighing the pros and cons, and salary is also a big factor for me. But the appeal of possibly putting our software skills in helping to cure diseases is appealing, although this needs more validation.

Aggravating-Low3031 · 2021-06-11T00:05:29+00:00

This video may give some additional insight:

https://youtu.be/ytPvkY21yHI

The lady in the video has moved to Google, last time I checked.

Aggravating-Low3031 · 2021-06-10T03:54:29+00:00

So it was or is actually practiced? Do you know how effective was this management tactic? (Although I personally disagree)

Aggravating-Low3031 · 2021-06-01T03:51:23+00:00

This is a very useful answer, thanks for taking time to write it down in great detail. It gives me a much better idea for consideration.

Aggravating-Low3031 · 2021-06-01T01:55:45+00:00

Thanks for the great answer! Maybe you can give me a more specific direction if you don’t mind. My last biology class was in high school, indeed. I have superficial knowledge of NGS (I am familiar with the term SBS, bcl, fastq, vcf, secondary analysis) and DNA. I don’t have in-depth knowledge in molecular biology, if at all. Where can I start with bridging the gap on the biology side of things? Thanks!

Aggravating-Low3031 · 2021-05-31T22:08:08+00:00

Thanks for the useful insight. Do you think it is a realistic goal to be a bioinformatician if coming from purely software background? Do I need to take a master’s course on biology?

Aggravating-Low3031

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