Recent changes in the life sciences, largely brought about by the advent of genomics, have created opportunities for people with "nontraditional" backgrounds to enter into research in the biological sciences. A number of fields, including imaging, neural modeling and artificial intelligence, population biology, bioinformatics, and genomics present opportunities for the mathematically, computationally, and mechanically adept. Making a successful transition to a career in the life sciences requires not only developing a working knowledge of the field you are about to enter, but also an understanding of the culture of biological research. Having made the transition from theoretical physics to genome science, I will share my experience and observations with you. I'll also try to point out some of the areas where I think good opportunities exist for physicists and provide some tips on techniques that I used to change careers.