<p>I recently got accepted into a top notch MS program in Biostats that I'm starting this fall. At this point, I'm still unsure about whether I'm passionate enough to go for a PhD, especially since my research experience is practically non-existant. I figured that if I decided the PhD wasn't for me, I'd still have ample career opportunities, or would I?</p>
<p>Well my colleague seemed to think that wasn't the case. Then again, he isn't really familiar with the typical career trajectory of a biostatician, which is what brings me here. If I decide to throw in the towel after obtaining my Masters, what would my options be? I understand that there is some sort of "glass ceiling" with a Masters, but how low is this "ceiling"? Should I just bite the bullet and and for a PhD no matter what or will I be able to have a flourishing and rewarding career with just my MS?</p>
<p>Any insight would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>Jesus Christ, no, of course master’s level biostatisticians have plenty of job opportunities. I have some familiarity with this because I’m getting my PhD in public health and was considering adding on an MS in biostats, and have been perusing job opportunities in stats since I have a pretty good grasp of quantitative methods. MOST jobs that I’ve seen for statisticians - with the exception of academic positions - only require a master’s degree. That’s because most stats jobs are applied. Businesses don’t want you to discover a new technique; they just want you to crunch numbers for them.</p>
<p>I like to watch my university’s stats page - they put up jobs and they have them listed by the month. There are TONS of jobs and most of them are for master’s level statisticians:</p>
<p>I’ve worked this past year as a staff research epidemiologist with only a Bachelor’s in Math; the rest of my co-workers were MPH Biostats graduates and their payscale was much higher than mine this past year. The demand for Biostatisticians (and statisticians, epidemiologists, and modelers in general) has been high. I graduated with two career-track offers in BS and Epi, and the same employers had plenty of positions open for more senior applicants.</p>
<p>Check the Emory RSPH job listings–you’ll notice many of the job postings are for BS/Epi:</p>
<p>Edit: and whoa! Quick aside, juillet–I thought you were getting your Ph.D. in Clinical Psych with a joint MPH? When the sudden transition to full-out Public Health? :P</p>
<p>hello
i have similar kind of a question. i am planning to enroll in maters in epidemiology or bio statistics but em not very sure which one to opt for… please tell me do they have good scope and plus i have graduated last year so for now i only have one year of work experience will that be enough?</p>