Help choosing type of grad school program (Biomedical/Biochem/Pharmacology/Toxicology) & my chances?

Graduate School
1

<p>Hey everyone. I'm new here. Thanks in advance for any help or opinions! Your wisdom and time are highly appreciated. Sorry for the length. I have three questions.</p>

<ol>
<li> My interests are somewhat broad and I want to make the right decision on my career path. Which PhD's are the most employable or in demand? I'm looking at Biochemistry/Biomedical Sciences, Molecular Pharmacology, and Toxicology.</li>
<li> For the answer to question 1, is the government, industry, or academia route best for job prospects? I'm open to all of them.</li>
<li> Are my first few years of bad GPA (10 years ago) going to dramatically affect my chances of getting into a mid-high ranked program compared to everything I've done the past 4 years? Or do I have at least some chance of acceptance given my credentials... (Below)</li>
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<p>It might sound like a joke with my GPA (shown below), but I'm considering schools like the University of Colorado, University of Washington, Notre Dame, Dartmouth, MIT, Stanford, University of Texas, etc.</p>

<p>GPA (Biochemistry B.S. and Psychology B.A. double major):</p>

<p>-Cumulative GPA: 3.2 (really bad first couple years, then I transferred and have a 3.65 cGPA at my current school)
-Science GPA: 3.75 (I'm all backwards where my science GPA trumps my non-science) A's in most everything except physics lab (C), orgo lab (B), and organic 2 (B).</p>

<p>GRE: Q: 165 V: 162</p>

<p>RESEARCH:</p>

<p>-1.5 years with a biochemist developing an electrochemical biosensor for botulinum toxin detection. Gave an oral presentation at an undergraduate research conference (current research) Hoping to publish soon.
-1.5 years with a chemical education professor. Presented undergraduate posters at the American Chemical Society national meetings twice. (current research)
-1 year with an experimental psychology professor studying addiction (past research)
These three professor also happen to be my letter writers.</p>

<p>EXTRA CURRICULAR:</p>

<p>-Supplemental Instructor for 3 semesters (two in Gen. Chem 2, one in Analytical Chemistry)
-TA in Psychopharmacology
-Volunteered in the E.R.: 50 hours
-Volunteered at V.A. Hospital Pharmacy: 50 hours
-Volunteered at a non-profit pharmacy helping those in poverty: 40 hours
-Worked in a pharmacy for 9 months (I was pre-pharmacy awhile back... not anymore)
-Math and science tutor for 3 years</p>

<p>AWARDS AND SCHOLARSHIPS:</p>

<p>-Provost's Honor Roll twice
-Chemistry Scholarship from the NSF</p>

<p>Feel free to ask questions if I need to clarify anything. Thank you!</p>

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<p>Any help? Thanks.</p>

3

<ol>
<li><p>I wouldn’t say that any of those are necessarily more employable than the other - it more depends on the skills you acquire and the experiences you have. An environment toxicologist that looks at the effects of climate on health and has summer internships with the federal government may be more employable than a molecular pharmacologist who did nothing but work in the lab for his/her PI for 6 years. A biomedical scientist with 10 publications at graduation is more employable in academia than a toxicologist with none. In industry, what you got your PhD in won’t really matter as much as what you can do. In academia, what you can teach/in what departments you can work are partially determined by your PhD. A biochemistry PhD or a toxicology PhD would enable you to teach in any of those departments you listed, as well as a traditional chemistry department (and would expand the jobs to which you can apply). A PhD in biomedical sciences wouldn’t enable you to teach in a traditional chemistry department, though - most likely.</p></li>
<li><p>Again this depends. You probably shouldn’t pick your route based on the best prospects, though - more based upon your interests. Academia is undeniably the toughest. Government is probably the next hardest, followed by industry, but it really depends on what you mean by “government” and “industry”. It may be more difficult to get a staff scientist position at Merck than it is to get a job as a toxicologist in your local city government.</p></li>
<li><p>Probably not. A 3.2 isn’t that low, especially with a 3.75 science GPA.</p></li>
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<p>We can’t do chances for PhD programs because there are simply too many factors involved that have nothing to do with your on-paper credentials. (Honestly, even chances for undergrad are nothing more than educated guesses.) You do look like a relatively competitive candidate, so I don’t think you should worry overmuch. What it will really come down to is fit with your department and how clearly delineated your research and professional goals are.</p>