What is a Bioinformatician?

[Pedro Mendes]

What bothers me with the common usage of the word "bioinformatics" is 
that it seems to cover *any* use of informatics in biology. 
Unfortunatly this is far from the truth. For example, I work in 
computer simulation of biochemical dynamics which is not considered 
"bioinformatics". If I was to apply to bioinformatics job I would 
most certainly be turned down since I have little knowledge of what to 
do with a string of letters... (even though I could be of use in 
designing a user-interface).

There is a lot more to the usage of computers in biological sciences 
than what is covered by the term "bioinformatics".

On the subject of availability of bioinformatics jobs in the industry 
I would say they are on the increase. Adverts for bioinformatics jobs 
are frequent in Nature. I wish I could say the same for jobs in 
"simulation of biochemical dynamics" (whatever one would call those 
who practice it!)

-- 
Pedro Mendes
home: pedro at enzyme.demon.co.uk , work: prm at aber.ac.uk | Aberystwyth,
http://www.enzyme.demon.co.uk/pedro.html              | Wales, U.K.
Author of GEPASI, a biochemical kinetics simulator    | European Union