I just started a Bioinformatics degree — how should I prepare for the future?
Hello everyone!
I recently started studying a Bioinformatics degree (Licenciatura en Bioinformática in Argentina). I know it’s still very early, but I’d like to start preparing for the future and understand what path I should follow to become successful in this field.
I already have around 6 years of experience working as a Software Engineer, mainly in full-stack development. I decided to study bioinformatics because it’s something I genuinely want to pursue, even knowing the job market can be difficult and competitive. Since I already come from a saturated industry, I think I’m mentally prepared for that side of things.
What I would really like to know from professionals or people already working in the field is:
- What knowledge is considered “fundamental” in bioinformatics?
- What skills should I prioritize early on?
- Are there specific areas (genomics, computational biology, ML, pipelines, statistics, etc.) that are more valuable to learn first?
- What projects, tools, or technologies helped you the most when starting?
- If you could start again from zero, what would you do differently?
Right now, my main goal is to build a strong foundation and start moving in the right direction as early as possible.
Any recommendations, advice, resources, or personal experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!