Making the decision
Why get a PhD degree?
A PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) will earn you a doctorate, the highest degree for a research scientist. If you want to be a professor at a university and/or have a research group, it is the degree that you will need. However, you don’t need a PhD if you want to teach at a Community College, a high school, middle school or alike.
​
A PhD will allow you to lead your own research teams, either at a university, in a national lab, or a private R&D (Research & Development) company.
​
At a research university, you will have dual research and teaching responsibilities. You will get grants to support your research and a few months of your salary (typically), and you will teach a number of classes as dictated by your Department (1-2 courses a year is typical). Smaller universities, Liberal Arts colleges, etc, will want you to focus more on teaching than on research.
With a PhD you are not a medical doctor and cannot practice medicine. To do that you need an MD (Medicinae Doctor). Conversely, having an MD doesn’t mean that you can lead research groups. If you would like to do both, there are MD-PhD programs you can apply to, where you will be trained to practice medicine and do health-related research.
Should I first do something else?
Maybe you are fresh out of college and are having doubts about whether to enroll in a PhD program. You may be “burned out” from college, worried that it’s going to take too many years out of your life, or you’re wondering if it’s the right fit for you. Or something else. If you think that you will want to get a PhD degree, but you would first like to work to gain experience and/or earn some money, that’s definitely a path that many have followed. Getting experience will add to your CV for when you apply to PhD programs,
PhD applications value diverse backgrounds and life experiences, lab experience, strong letters of recommendation, and publications. This last one is important. Often, if you go to work for an R&D company as a lab technician, you won’t publish, because that’s not the company’s main goal. However, if you are a lab technician in an academic lab, publishing is their top priority. So if you think that you will want that PhD, but you want to work first, try getting a position at an institution where you will author publications.
​
Alternatively, you may be ready to jump right into graduate school, but you’re having doubts between a Masters and a Doctorate degree. If there is any doubt at all, I would recommend going for the PhD degree, for two reasons.
First, because the first two years are courses that count towards a Masters, so if you were to decide that the PhD track is not right for you after those two years, you can earn a Masters degree after the second year.
Second, you will get paid a research stipend and your tuition will be covered when you are accepted into a PhD program, whereas you have to pay for tuition if you enroll in a Master’s program.
Another reason for considering a PhD instead of a MSc is that traditionally a PhD gives you a wider range of job and pay grade possibilities. Group leaders, managers, principal investigators, and other “boss-like” positions require PhD degrees. With an MS you will start as a lab technician, and climbing that ladder is harder because you are competing against all the other PhDs. In fact, there are too many Life Science PhDs on the market, and jobs are very competitive, especially in academia. That’s why, if you think that the PhD is right for you, know that you can do it!
​
Finally, if you want to obtain a PhD but you are undecided in which area of science, I recommend enrolling in a PhD program that allows for an exploratory first year, like an umbrella program that includes different disciplines of, for example, Life Science.
I am set on not getting a PhD
You’ve thought it through, and the PhD life is not for you. You have seen or heard that the PhD life is quite miserable, with its endless research days, low pay, and over-demanding bosses.You also don’t want to spend an average of 5 years of your life getting a PhD. For all those reasons, you are set on not enrolling in a PhD program. That’s fine too! Just make sure you've thought all your options through.
Not having any “advanced” degree will be hard on your professional life, at least in the Life Sciences. This is especially true if you want to be involved in research, because so many people get their PhD.
​
If you don't want to get a PhD because you don't care about running a research group, there are alternatives. You can be a program coordinator, or go into journalism, science communication or consulting (just to name a few).
You can also enroll in an MBA (Masters in Business Administration) directly after graduating with a BSc, which takes you down the business route and is needed for starting and running companies. Unlike PhD programs which pay you a stipend, those programs are usually expensive and you pay them out of pocket. And if you’re interested in any of the other options, talking to a career counselor, looking for internships, volunteering experiences and fellowships is a good way to learn about them and get your foot in the door.