I’m nearing the end of a biology PhD and my advisor just told me that funding runs out… in December, which is ~6-9 months sooner than I expected. Yay. The shock has worn off, and I think I can reasonably finish up in that time, so now I have to start planning for the future. The default next step is “do a postdoc, I guess”*, but I’ve got no interest in sticking around in academia for any longer than I have to.
The internet is full of people bemoaning their PhDs, offset by grad programs and research organizations attempting to convince everyone that a PhD is valuable even outside of research and academia. The internet is NOT full of companies going out of their way to hire people with a PhD in whatever.
So what is the real-world, employable value of my skills? I can design experiments and evaluate vague and contradictory evidence. I can digest and evaluate a ton of scientific literature on a new topic, I’m good at math and statistics (for a biologist), my writing skills are serviceable. But I don’t know how any of that is useful, since I don’t any any job postings with “critical thinking” as an explicit requirement…
*possibly a decent idea, if I can find a postdoc which helps me transition into clinically related research and a biotech/pharma career…
There’s a boatload of Ph.Ds in my company and every one of them is having their education pay off very nicely.
Aren’t you sort of in the best position to know what the real world value of your own education is? Are there not industry contacts your professors and advisors have made?
“Biology” is a broad field. Lots of companies need biologists and people with a deep understanding of biology. Biology as a science is a rather healthy one in industry, to say the least. When I type “Biology” into job search engines I get a hell of a lot of hits.
I got my Ph.D. in biology 12 years ago. Has it paid off? Well, considering that I didn’t have to pay a dime for my degree and I really like my job, I’d say yes. I’m able to put my education and training (including what I learned during my post-doc) to good use, and I don’t have regrets about the decisions I’ve made (even though I’ve made some mistakes along the way). It helped that I was able to leverage my training in marine ecology to a career in environmental science. If I had studied something different, I don’t know if I’d be doing what I’m doing now.
Like you, I had zero interest in going into academia. I did a post-doc because I needed a job, though. And even though it was physically and psychologically exhausting–much more than my graduate work–I’m glad I had the balls to do it.
Do industry jobs require a post doc in Biology? We hire CS and EE PhDs right out of school.
Mine, in CS, has paid off nicely, getting me a good research job at Bell Labs and letting me do good program stuff in conferences. It is kind of expected for program committee people.
Looks like all the industry jobs that are vaguely related to my PhD (cell signaling and development, by way of model organism genetics) will require a postdoc. It seems like the only biomedical PhDs that are hired directly out of grad school have done their thesis on something much more clinically relevant.
I just hear that 10-20% of biology PhDs end up getting some sort of mystery job that’s not pharma/biotech, teaching, or a postdoc. My graduate program and my research advisor don’t have a clue about what those jobs are.
That “mystery job” may be something totally unrelated to their Ph.D but rather a side interest that’s more marketable or that they enjoy more. Until recently, I had a colleague who’d gotten a Ph.D in microbiology, but he worked as a field biologist (certified in macroinvertebrate identification). Now he works for an environmental advocacy group.
The last place I worked before retiring always made a big deal about how many PhDs they had on staff. And yet I, with my measly BSE was given the same tasking and produced the same sorts of reports and analyses as my highly-degreed coworkers. And because it was a government job, and largely due to my seniority, I generally earned more than they did.
Yeah, I know, government isn’t the same as real world. My point is that in some cases, it has little extra value beyond bragging rights. But good luck finding a rewarding position!
Depends on how much money you wanted to pay. My husband has a Ph.D. in clinical psychology. MSWs are a far more popular hire than Ph.D.s because they can do effectively the same work and you’re not obligated to pay them more for it. (In clinical psych, the major thing a Ph.D. can legally do that a M.S. can not do is psychological testing.) My husband was hired at his group practice because he just happened to have a very unique expertise in treating OCD, Tourette Syndrome and anxiety disorders in children, and that clinic just happened to be drowning in referrals for that exact thing.
I have a very bitter, cynical view of academia based on my husband’s experience. He left academia after he received his degree, though he was discouraged not to, and is now in family practice and incredibly happy and making good money. But the absolute ‘value of a Ph.D.’ is going to vary dramatically not just by field but regionally. Are you willing to move anywhere in the country or are you tied to a specific location? Because that will also impact your ability to find a job.
There are companies that specialize in recruiting for biotech/pharma jobs. You might try contacting one of them to see what they think of the skills and experience you already have to offer.
Do look into government jobs, too. They can be interesting and fairly lucrative, especially if you are able to get on the General Service track. Basically it’s like being in academic, without the tenure pressure or teaching requirements. The downside is that most of them are at lease partially grant-based.
My mother took her PhD and went to work for Dept. of Agriculture, then stayed there until she was so old regulations didn’t allow it. She worked the last couple of years for free just to keep her lab.
My daughter mastered out of a molecular bio program a year ago. She had no debt and was readily hired at a job w/ pretty good salary/benefits, but not directly related to her education.
Her BF is defending his molec bio PhD next month. Seems like he has plenty of interviews, tho I’m not sure if they are the types of work he really wants to do, and have no idea of salaries offered. He’s got a ton of debt. Would be interesting to see whether his PhD gives him a considerable advantage over my dtr.
Just talked w/ both of them over the weekend. To say they are down on postdoc would be an understatement. In their opinions, essentially lowpaid labor with little clear advantage in terms of eventual hireability. Of course, if you had an idea of your “dream lab” and got a position there, your opinion would likely differ.
I think the realworld answer to your question would depend on job postings requiring PhD, and career earnings in various fields for PhD vs BA/MA.