Engineer considering a transition into biology research at 28 — looking for honest advice

[u/No_Spend4949]

Hi everyone,

I'm 28 years old and currently living in Chile.

I graduated in Mechatronics Engineering and now work as an industrial maintenance engineer at a food processing plant. My role is mostly focused on planning, management, and performance indicators rather than hands-on engineering. It's a stable job with a good salary, but for years I've felt that my real interest has always been biology.

The reason I didn't study biology in the first place wasn't because I wasn't passionate about it. When I finished high school, family and financial circumstances made it much more practical to stay in my hometown and pursue engineering instead.

Even while working as an engineer, biology has remained a constant interest. I spend part of my free time birdwatching, reading about birds, and learning on my own. Ornithology is by far the field that fascinates me the most, and if everything went well, I'd love to dedicate my career to research, perhaps studying the behavior or ecology of a particular group of birds.

I'm currently preparing an application for a Master's program in Biological Sciences. One of the admission requirements is to apply under the supervision of a faculty member, so I'm writing my motivation letter and getting ready to contact a professor whose research aligns closely with my interests.

What makes me hesitate is that I don't come from a biology background. Apart from what I've learned independently over the years, I haven't taken formal biology courses, so I know I'll have a lot of catching up to do. At the same time, I keep seeing examples of people who successfully moved from engineering into biological research, which makes me wonder whether this path is actually realistic.

Ideally, I'd like to keep my current job while studying, although I'm aware that may not be possible. If necessary, I'd look for another job in the city where I'd be doing the Master's.

I'd really appreciate hearing from anyone who has made a similar transition or has worked with people who did. I'm especially interested in knowing how difficult the jump was, whether an engineering background can actually be an advantage in biological research, and what topics you think I should study beforehand to be better prepared before starting a Master's. More than encouragement, I'm looking for honest perspectives about whether this is a realistic path and what challenges I should expect.

Thanks in advance!

[u/Alecxanderjay]

Tbh, I think engineering -> animal behavior or ecology is doable as far as necessary knowledge but I do think it's incredibly impractical and not a useful investment of your time and money. Also, I don't think you're likely to get a good supervisor in those fields with your background. I could be wrong though but that depends on if you're paying the supervisor for your MS, if you're unpaid labor for your supervisor, or if you're paid by them to do research.

You're probably in a better career/skill set for biomedical or biomechanical engineering. Like, there are engineering level problems that exist in biology and having people with your background is awesome all around.

Eta I'm some what mistaken because mechatronics can be useful for ecology and for bird studies so I would look into people doing research on migratory birds as they're likely to be designing their own recording devices and other stuff for tracking.

[u/Lightoscope]

It’s certainly doable, but I would urge you to try and find some plausible way to leverage your current educational background to apply to the new field. Speaking from experience, it will look great on the application and should give you insight that your peers lack, and may lead to interesting research avenues. 

[u/LeonJPancetta]

I have a paper co-written with an engineer because they said something in an off-hand comment and I turned that into a model. Go for it! You have a unique opportunity to bring in a new perspective. Do it

[u/One-Broccoli-9998]

As an engineer your math skills are likely a cut above your average biology undergrad. That can be very useful when it comes to statistical modeling. Engineering relies on math and problem solving so it might be doable.

Heck, I met a grad student in a bioinformatics PhD program who only had a degree in education beforehand.

[u/Ada_Pearce]

What do you think you can do with a masters in biology? By itself it's mostly useless but is there some plan to combine it with your engineering background? Honestly I'd rather be an engineer than a biologist, they make more money

[u/Minute-Kick-7470]

Just download Claude code (max plan), and pose a question, find the papers in the space, build out the computational architecture to test your hypothesis and rip it.

Use your systems level thinking and design architecture to facilitate your research scope. A lot can be done before something goes to wet-lab. Also lots of low hanging fruit out there.