[mac]

I'm about to graduate a 3 year biotechnology program at an Ontario College and my best advice is to figure out what you like about biotechnology first and what you might want to do when you have completed your education. There are tonnes of applications for biotechnology, the question is what kind of work you are interested in.

- Do you want to work in genetically modified foods?
- Do you want to work in the pharmaceutical field developing antibodies that can be used to treat cancer?
- Do you want to work in research and further the scientific front?

Once you have an idea of what you want to do or what interests you most, you can start your formal education and as you learn you will likely change your target career slightly depending on what you like most in your education.

As for experiments in your garage.... I wouldn't worry about doing any of those. There are plenty of scientists who are doing that work for us and there is no point in you doing that kind of work with as little knowledge as you have. First of all, most of your experiments will be unlikely to go as planned as you are untrained, and second of all, there is a high degree of likelihood that you will hurt yourself - especially if you set up a lab in your bedroom. Many of the chemicals involved are highly toxic and it takes years of training to know how to properly work your way through experiments safely under your own direction.

So again, I'd just recommend you think about your passion and then choose an education that can get you there.

Best of luck!