I have a Masters in bioinformatics. I have been accepted to several top 10 programs for PhDs starting in the fall but have a full time job paying ~$80K a year. I am about to be 28 and am very torn between whether or not I should do the PhD at this stage in my life or not.
I have no interest in academia, I want to be in industry for life, and would only use the PhD as a stepping stone to a higher level position than the “technician” (actually my title is scientist, but I understand that it’s basically a technician/specialist ceiling with a masters) role that I am delegated to. I want to be a director of research or a VP in industry not some academic developing algorithms and earning $70-80K my whole life.
What the hell do I do?
Instead of telling you what to do, let us list various things to consider:
A. Opportunity cost
You are currently earning $80K/year and salary may increase to $90K over the next four years even in your supposedly ‘stagnant position’. A PhD program will give you ~$25K of stipend. If your PhD takes four years, the opportunity cost of doing it is ($85,000-$25,000)*4 = $240,000 minus taxes. If PhD takes five years, you are down by $300,000 minus taxes. Also, your professor will most likely ‘encourage’ (sell) you a post-doc after your PhD, because that is how most professors got their academic jobs. That will add another $60K to your opportunity cost. Can you instead save $360K (minus tax) over 5-7 years, and start a business related to what you are doing?
B. You Will Meet Many Smart People in Universities
Biggest advantage of joining a PhD program is to meet smart kids, who are thinking about potentially game-changing solutions to today’s (or tomorrow’s) problems. You may start a business as in ‘A’, but that business needs bright ideas to succeed (not a necessary condition).
Good example: Moleculo story
C. The Academic System is Run through Government Grants
Most frustrating aspect of academia is that it is run by government money, and that makes life miserable for those who are enterprising. You will find that very few professors are spawning biotech companies like Steve Quake or George Church, and most see business world as something undesirable. So, your future goal (‘I want to be a director of research or a VP in industry’) may not fit well with your PhD adviser, who sees yourself as a post-doc in lab next door.
The best way to make your decision is to talk to few students, who are about to finish their PhDs in bioinformatics or already completed it. If any of our readers are in similar position, please advise Mark on what you see as pluses and minuses of doing PhD.
My two cents to the matter is that chances of becoming a director of research or a VP in industry are not improved by getting a Ph.D in bioinformatics. The positions that you list require a business sense – if anything you should consider furthering your education in Business.
Very good point Istvan. My initial response very similar to yours, but then I decided not to give my own advice and rephrase the same point in terms of opportunity cost. A business manager surely would understand opportunity cost
I would say it depends. It might be hard climbing the career ladder in a company full of PhDs if you “only” have a masters. You might hit the ceiling quite quickly in such an environment. Of course, this would not matter if you establish your own company.
If I just graduated college and am interested in a career in bioinformatics, should I grab a masters or should I do a full PhD?
IMHO, PhD is a specialized degree that one should not pursue unless all other reasonable options are exhausted. When you are in an university, you only hear about doing Masters, PhD and post-docs, because universities are in the business of selling Masters, PhDs and post docs. The situation is not too different from a GM dealer shop, where you only hear about Chevies and not Tercels or Accords. Good buyer would check the opinions of various dealer shops, even though he may decide to get a Chevy in the end.
Do you really need masters? I am not saying you do and not saying you do not. I am just asking to make sure you have given enough thought about that step.
I see your point, thank you for the help. I looked at the first few pages of “bioinformatics jobs” in a job search. It seems that positions with “Senior” in the title require a PhD, most positions prefer a PhD, nearly all require a Masters, while only a few have Bachelor’s as a minimum.
If I’m trying to aim high and want to have options later in my career, should I not go ahead and get a graduate degree while I’m already in a transition point in life? Or should I see how far I can get without a graduate degree? Would getting a PhD allow me to more easily score a gig that I want, or would I be more limited with a PhD? Is a PhD simply not necessary unless I was focused on a very specific area of bioinformatics?
Indeed, the opportunity cost is the primary factor causing me to have cold feet now. I have spoken to several PhDs I work with and they all have commented that I have a practical and business oriented mind; I guess I’ve got that going for me.
I appreciate the responses and thanks for reposting my question. I am still debating what to do and will update by mid April when decisions are due.