<p>This is what you should be thinking–
What is it that you want to be doing EVERY DAY, month after month, year after year?</p>
<p>Forget the salary talk. What will get you up in the morning, after the novelty wears off?</p>
<p>If you want to do research (and discover new things)…and you are really talented, grants will come. But poorly thought out proposals will fail at attracting money. BTW, the top PhD researchers make more money than most MDs practicing medicine. I know several researchers that have made plenty of money via licensing, biotech startups, etc.
(note: My own brother has a Berkeley PhD, co-founded a company, and is doing research everyday because he gets to discover new things and get paid for it. Also, he has zero debt and plays the stock/options markets for fun with his play money, which is easily into the 6 figures:)</p>
<p>BUT I can also tell you that the top researchers I know never really thought about money when they began their careers. That is just not a common trait among the best researchers. In time, money just seems to come to them because they were/are so good at what they do…excellence eventually gets recognized.</p>
<p>If you want to be a mechanic, and diagnose/treat people’s physical problems on a daily basis, getting an MD will be your cup of tea. Otherwise, get a Ph.D.</p>
<p>However, I can’t stress enough that each person has to do an honest self-assessment and ask, “Do I think I’ll be really good at research?”. The reality is that MOST people are NOT as good as they think they are…</p>