<p>Hi
I am planning to go to graduate school after finishing with microbiology. I want to pursue the biomedical sciences, but I don't know if I should I apply directly to a Phd or first a masters. And also, does anyone know the job prospects for each one? the salary?
Thanks</p>
<p>Getting an MS will allow you to be a strong applicant for the majority of academic and industry jobs in the sciences. You’d generally be considered a tech and would be looking at ~30-35k to start at least in academia. Industry would be a little higher, but also is a bit more labile in terms of job stability (this may become more true in academia with upcoming budget cuts).
A ph.d is really only useful if you have a goal that requires it, like getting a professorship or leading a research team. You’ll be looking at getting payed 30k for the 5-7 years it will take you to get your ph.d, then 35-45 for postdoc positions. It’s difficult to get a faculty position at university, and starting salary isn’t great for the amount of education and work required (maybe 50?), full professorships are REALLY difficult and are much more variable with salaries up to 200k if you’re getting grants like a champ. That’s the extreme minority, though.
Industry jobs for ph.ds (who aren’t underemployed!) can be 70k+ easily, depending on your field and your business know-how.</p>
<p>Do you want to go the academic route or industry? There are a lot of different jobs available at both levels (bachelors/masters or PhD). </p>
<p>If you want to lead a research project (industry) and maybe move up to a manager level - get a PhD. If you want to be a professor or academic researcher get a PhD. (obvs there are other careers you can do w/a PhD). </p>
<p>I know industry mid-level PhD scientists making $70K, a small hospital lab director making $90K. (Of course first getting the PhD +postdoc is like 8 years of $30-40K). Academic salaries I am not sure. </p>
<p>I don’t think there is much value in a Master’s degree. If you are going to spend 2yrs paying $$ to get a Masters, just work for that amount of time and the work experience will help in terms of salary and jobs, just as much as a Masters in my opinion. </p>
<p>For BS/MS jobs, the lowest level is just a technician and in my experience those are ~35K. You can also be a lab manager and I think the pay is similar. With a few years in industry and a BS you can make $50K. </p>
<p>(Do academic profs really start at 50K?)</p>
<p>Profs are rarely hired on as full professors, they start as instructors, lecturers or adjunct faculty and are often initially part-time (aka full time with part time pay). This makes the range of salary really large, so 50 is just a top-of-my-head estimate.
I just checked at my undergrad university and I’m seeing as low as 15k (I’m guessing humanities) to 500k (full time professor but really just a world class neurosurgeon). The bigger names in the sciences who have some teaching duties are getting 100-250k.</p>
<p>Profs are never hired on as full professors - that typically takes 12-15 years - but they also aren’t always hired a lecturers or adjuncts first, either, especially in the biomedical sciences. In traditional fields, the entry point is usually an assistant professor position, and in many fields this is still the most common start for new professors. Full-time tenure-track professors can start anywhere from $35K to $75K depending on their university and its location, and their field. In the biomedical sciences, you’re much more likely to start on the higher end of that, especially if you are bringing in grant funding.</p>
<p>It’s also important to note that there is a byzantine system of other designations that you can have if you are a professor in the biomedical sciences. You can be a clinical professor, in which you mostly teach clinical courses and do a lot of research; you can be a research professor, which teaches no classes and mostly does research. There are a lot of people who are in permanent assistant research professor positions who stay there for years and years; they never teach a class, or teach one only occasionally. Sometimes they are soft money and their salary and position is contingent upon grant funding that they or their lab brings in.</p>
<p>But none of this is possible without a PhD, so if you want to go the academic research route, aim for a PhD. I’d suggest applying primarily to PhD programs but also applying to a few high-ranked MS programs just in case you aren’t admitted to a PhD program.</p>
<p>At my university you don’t have to be a big name to make $100K; I think the new assistant professors around here in the medical sciences make around $80K, so associates are surely making $100K. (I’m actually up at the medical center.) Actually, the median salary for all assistant professors at my university is $99,000; for associates, it’s $125,000, and for full professors it’s $197,000. I know there are professors here who make far more than that. But I go to a prestigious university in a high-cost area of living, and the AAUP survey admits that these salaries are in the 96th-99th percentile.</p>