Is it unlikely to actually get a research career in Genetics?

College Majors Science Majors
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<p>I'm a high school senior entering college next year. I plan to major in biochemistry (with a double major in political science) and to eventually get a Ph.D. in genetics. I want to do research at a university. I'm interested in genetic engineering but I do not want to work with plants. I really would like to decide on my major before I enter college because I will not have the money to take an extra year to graduate if I switch majors too late. </p>

<p>After reading this forum, I am very concerned about the feasibility of getting a good research job. If I can afford it, I do not mind staying in school for a long time. I just want to make more money that an elementary school teacher; I do not want to be rich. However, I do want to be able to get a research job after I graduate. I also want to be able to pay off my student loans. Should I abandon this plan as unrealistic? Some people must be getting these jobs as researchers in the life sciences but are these only the people who have extraordinary talent?</p>

<p>I really do have a wide range of interests and I would probably be happy in a variety of fields. I have considered computer science, math, statistics, philosophy (pre-law?), economics, sociology, and political science. Would it be better to pursue one of those fields? Which majors have the best job prospects? It seems like every career has people saying "No, that has terrible job prospects!" Is a gentics Ph.D. more likely to get me a good job than a law degree? What about a political science degree? I just need help comparing the differences between bleak majors.</p>

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<p>Genomics has a promising outlook as technology and software make things cheaper. You might not be the next Craig Venter, but it’s worth a try.</p>

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<p>Genetics does have a fairly good outlook since there are lots of “things” going around about it - Human Genome, Cloning, Reviving ancient species are among some of the “popular” topics thrown around, although becoming a part of such research projects would be difficult.</p>

<p>I’d imagine genetics would be in the same realm as the other science disciplines. Don’t get just an undergrad if you want to be making less than $40k a year for the rest of your life, without any foreseeable future of it getting any better. With the PhD, you’ll have to move around the country finding postdoc positions - but if you keep going, you can eventually secure a good tenure/research career somewhere. It’s just the light at the end of a very, very long tunnel. Although I am not sure on the federal funding of such things, I think Craig Venter’s expedition was a privately-funded one.</p>

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<p>Having a career in the sciences is not easy. You have to be willing to move around and spend a lot of time in school to make it a possibility. But with a PhD, the outlook is at least not dire. If that’s what you really want to do, go for it.</p>