<p>There are plenty of jobs out there that gives you job security, nice hours, and high salary. You could even become just an MD and still be able to do bench research and serve the academic community. What are your reasonings for still choosing to get a PhD, despite all the cons about it?</p>
<p>I’d rather be an electrician than a physician.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Medical school is very expensive. I didn’t want to be saddled with that debt.</p></li>
<li><p>At the time, I wasn’t aware that MDs did research, and I wanted to do research. I’m a social scientist and most MDs do biomedical research, but I found out later that a lot of MDs do social science research too.</p></li>
<li><p>The training period for an MD can be longer than a PhD, but in retrospect when you add a postdoc onto the 5.5-6 years it’s going to take me to finish, they’re about even.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Actually if I could go back in time, I would get my BSN in nursing, work as a nurse for a few years, and then become a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner. Then I’d get my PhD in nursing. I could do the exact same research I do now, but I’d have the option of practicing, and it’s not as expensive or time-consuming as an MD. Plus I’m a fan of the nursing model.</p>
<p>My reasons for getting a PhD:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I wanted to do research. I love research, and I wanted to benefit large amounts of people at once (public health) rather than one person at a time (clinical medicine). Now I see that they go hand in hand and that clinical medicine informs public health, which is why I’ve entertained the idea of going back and earning an MSN to do research and practice.</p></li>
<li><p>Most research jobs give you job security, if you can find one. I was never aiming for academia, but I also go to a top 10 program in my field, so that’s an option if I want it.</p></li>
<li><p>I wasn’t interested in making six figures. I grew up in a working-class home, and as students me and my husband’s income together is more than what my father raised a household of five on. So academic salaries (for one person!) sound just fine to me. I just wanted to be middle-class comfortable. Just being able to replace things before they run out is a big deal to me.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Because I didn’t want to go to medical school or be an MD. </p>
<p>Long answer: I have no interest in anything that requires patient contact and 4 years of med school would have been hell for me in that regard. I’m not interested in clinical research (I know some MDs do research other than clinical, but that’s what many do), I’m interested in basic research. I wasn’t impressed with the research opportunities in PhD/MD programs (and now, having met some students in PhD/MD programs, I’m not impressed with their research). </p>
<p>Med school isn’t the end-all be-all holy grail and I would have been miserable there.</p>
<p>It’s because they aren’t in it for the money.</p>
<p><a href=“Steve Jobs' 2005 Stanford Commencement Address - YouTube”>Steve Jobs' 2005 Stanford Commencement Address - YouTube;
<p>Silenthill, I sent you a PM.</p>