<p>What can one do after a biomedical PhD besides a post-doc?</p>
<p>Some people go directly into industry (pharmaceuticals or biotech). Some people go into consulting. I’ve known a few people who went to medical school or law school after finishing.</p>
<p>My advice: don’t do a PhD unless you know exactly what you want to do afterwards. It’s a huge commitment.</p>
<p>I disagree – I think a lot of people change their minds about career options during their PhDs. I personally don’t really know what I want to do “when I grow up” (as a 4th year), but I know that doing the PhD was the right choice for me.</p>
<p>I think it’s important to be sure that you really want to go to grad school before going. I don’t think you need to know what you want to be when you come out.</p>
<p>^ 100% agree with Mollie. I know I want a PhD. I don’t know what I want to do after though and I am not really concerned about that. But I know whatever it is, I will most likely need or will greatly benefit from a PhD.</p>
<p>Agreed- most biosci-related jobs worth having later in life seem to require a PhD, so going to grad school opens up many different career paths (govt, industry, academic) – but I don’t think you need to know which path you want to take when you start.</p>
<p>My plans are to go into public health after my Phd. Though that will probably include a postdoc for more specific training.</p>
<p>What kinds of jobs are available in government?</p>
<p>I do want to do research, but I hate how unstable the prospects are. The PhDs in my lab right now are all probably going to end up in the pharmaceutical industry.</p>
<p>Options:
Government includes organizations like working for the NIH, CDC, FDA, EPA, Dept Health and Human Services, National Labs (Livermore, Lawrence Berkeley, etc).
Academic jobs: professors (who teach) or research-scientists jobs (limited teaching) within a university or institution within a university (like Fred Hutch, Gladstone, etc)
Industry: Biotech, drug companies, etc.
More Education: go get another degree, such as Masters in Public Health (MPH), MD, MBA (become a CEO of a biotech, do the business side of science-- see the Keck institute for a combined PhD/MBA program), JD (do science-related law: medical-related litigation, patents, etc. – there are combined JD/PhD programs too)</p>