All Bioinformatics careers require extensive education—a Bachelor’s degree is not enough for many of these careers. In most cases at least a Master’s degree is required to become involved in Bioinformatics research. Only a handful of schools in the country offer BS, MS and PhD degrees in Bioinformatics, but many offer just one or two of the three.

The type of degree required varies depending on the specialty chosen: for example, Biostatisticians will most benefit from a degree in Biostatistics or Statistics. In all cases, people with post-graduate Master’s or PhD degrees will have the competitive advantage, even if such a degree is not strictly required in their chosen field.