<p>I am currently a junior undergraduate student in a program that will lead me from an undergraduate degree in science to an MBA in 6 years. It is meant to serve in pharmaceutical companies and other science related firms in a management position while still having general knowledge of the science behind the products.</p>
<p>I have been considering switching out of the MBA portion of the program and continuing straight to my PhD. While I feel as though I will enjoy the PhD. and doing lab work more than being in a business position, the job market is a huge deterrent into going for a PhD as it is a much longer process that is not likely to always receive the best results.</p>
<p>Any advice on what would be my best course of action?</p>
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I know a few people who have gone through such programs, and they have ALL gone into sales, not management - there are very few management positions available that will accept BS+MBA+No Real Experience. Can you do management down the road? Of course, but who can’t? People never seem to recognize that management degrees are always much much more valuable with a few years of actual professional experience, and getting the degree BEFORE that experience can hurt your career as much or more than it can help it.</p>
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Your best course of action is the one that matches how you want to spend the rest of your life. Do you want to work in the business wing of a science/tech/pharma company, or do you want to go into research or academia? If the first, get an MBA (preferably a few years down the road), if the second stick around for the PhD. Will you make more money with an MBA? Yes, but you will make enough with a PhD to live a comfortable life by the standards of most people, and will still have the opportunity to move into big money jobs in management, entrepreneurship, and sales should you so choose.</p>
<p>^What cosmicfish said. With an MBA you will likely make more money, but you have to consider whether you want to do pharmaceutical sales and then management, or whether you want to do bench research developing pharmaceutical drugs and devices. You are right that the job market is not good in this field.</p>