Looking for career advice

[DrPangloss]

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Hello All,

I have been following this discussion with considerable interest as I am presently a second bachelor's student strongly considering applying to med/grad school in the next year. A little about myself, I am 30 years old and have worked as a hospital tech and caseworker with brain injured adults over the last 5 years. My first degree was split between music, communications and anthro so I am having to go back to take the science and math classes I missed out on. I have also been assisting in a behavioral neuro research lab the last 6 months and have really been enjoying it. To be honest, I feel drawn more toward teaching students and doing research than working with patients but am concerned about my somewhat advanced age and the difficult grant situation. I would like to be able to have stable finances and perhaps a small family in my lifetime. I have some specific questions below but welcome more general advice/suggestions of resources that might let me know what I might be getting myself into.

Here are my questions:

What can a PhD (say in bio or neuroscience if PhD is too broad) do besides a faculty position or biotech/pharma?

Is biotech/pharma able to absorb all the PhDs that academia cannot?

Are there many unemployed PhDs out there?

Is MD/PhD worth considering for a 30 year old?

What are the growth areas of biology that might have a better funding outlook in the near future?

Is the dismal grant situation likely to improve in the near future?


Thank you.

Dave

 

[reine1jb]

I think given your unique situation (aka your age) lends to several things that really need to be considered. What are your motivations for wanting to pursue an MD/PhD? If you don't want to treat patients then why have the MD. Sure plently of MD only graduates do great and awesome research and never touch a patient but given that you'll likely be almost 40 by the time you even graduate from an MD/PhD needs to be realized...

there are plenty of smaller state institutions that a person with a PhD can teach and do research and they get a base salary and don't rely cmpletely on grant monies....I got to MAC school in michigan and work for a PI who teaches and conducts research. so if that's your goal maybe don't aim for teaching or doing research at a large medical school where the pressure to turn out research is undoubtably higher...also you needed to consider the type of students you want to work with? Undergraduate, graduate/medical? At my school there are no graduates working in my lab, infact we only have a master's level biology program so PI's here realize that much of their research is done by undergraduates like me...

I think it's awesome that you have the courage and enthusiasm to take a different career path at this juncture in your life. Just make sure that the decision you make is well thought out and the premises for that decision are clear and concise...