Disclaimer: I have a PhD in physical, not biological, sciences... so take what I have to say with several grains.
Anecdotally, it seems like straight-up biochem and hardcore bio all but require a PhD. I know some who have managed without such a degree, but they're not the norm, at least in my universe. My sense is that, in the economic downturn, it might be getting harder and harder to pull it off w/out a PhD.
My $0.02: Why not an MS in "biotechnology" from Hopkins? I don't know too many who have done this, but everybody I know who did had a BA. I poked around for about 10 ms and couldn't find a list of the chemistry/bio prereqs, but I'm sure you can find them if you hunt. My impression is that this is a program for professional people without much scientific background. Something tells me that somebody with a Yale undergrad and Georgetown JD won't have much trouble meeting the academic requirements provided they don't call for too much chemistry and biology.
The best thing about this is that it's an online program so you could do it from anywhere.
http://advanced.jhu.edu/academic/biotechnology/It's just that it seems to me that an MS from Johns Hopkins in "biotechnology" will give you more street cred than an MS from OSU in chemistry or biochemistry and might be easier to complete. If I were going to spend my money and time on something like this, I'd spend it on that instead. Don't get me wrong, OSU is a fine school and this "biotechnology" degree sounds a little softish to me. Yet, I think that's kind of what you are going for. You don't need hardcore laboratory training... you're not going to be the next Craig Ventner or Linus Pauling whatever. You just need some resume candy to make people think you can do some biotech stuff. Short of getting a PhD, seems to me that this is your best option.
