Is anyone else thinking of doing a PhD program after veterinary school to pursue biomedical research? I know this is not a common path so I have been struggling to find good sources of information and advice.
I am wondering if there are any programs that are better for DVMs compared to the others? It seems many programs I've looked into won't transfer any DVM courses and pay the same stipend for students coming from a bachelor's program as those coming from a doctoral program. I know most PhD programs I've looked into pay about $30k. I've also seen comparative medicine training programs for DVMs that pay well for veterinarians to pursue their PhD, but it seems those are only at the Ivy League schools. Is anyone aware of other PhD training opportunities for DVMs or PhD programs that will transfer credits to shorten the length of the PhD?
Any advice is appreciated!
Greetings, OP. I attended graduate school before veterinary school, and departed my PhD with a terminal Master's degree. There are different 'methods' of obtaining a salary during graduate school. I was a member of an NSF (not NIH) funded lab. As such, my adviser's grants weren't large enough (in cash) to pay his students a salary AND support the research itself. 100% of my salary came from teaching. I taught every quarter I was enrolled as a graduate student- that is how I paid my bills. The post-docs in our laboratory were paid off my adviser's grants, but the graduate students were not. Teaching requires a significant investment of time to do it right. As such, about 30% of my time budget was devoted to teaching and its associated responsibilities (grading papers, writing exams, delivering lectures, etc.). If you intend on working in an NIH funded laboratory (the majority of research labs geared toward biomedical research), you will likely be paid off the grant (to some degree- teaching may also be required to supplement your income). Currently, the NIH pay rate for post-doctoral fellows (AFTER graduate school) hovers between the high 40s and 50K per year. Don't take this the wrong way (I don't mean to offend), but having your DVM doesn't necessarily qualify you to 'make more money' as a graduate student as compared to the applicant straight out of undergrad. Many of us on these boards have had discussions with posters that the DVM is not a research degree. The DVM teaches you very little (with the exception, perhaps, of epidemiology and extramural research if you went that route) about experimental design, statistical analysis, and manuscript/grant writing- THESE functions are the lifeblood of research. As a graduate student, you'll be performing many of the experiments for your project yourself (depending on the tech support within your adviser's lab). At senior levels (assoc. to full prof), the majority of your time will be devoted to advocating for your science and competing for money to fund your laboratory. YOU will now be responsible for garnering the funds to pay for your own staff to complete the projects that you design with these folks in tandem. Grants, manuscripts, and academic service are the name of the game in an academic research career. Industry can be a bit different, but you're a long way off from that step. Ask yourself if you deserve a higher salary than the student directly out of undergrad. Can you do more- as a scientist- than he or she? Do you know more- about doing science- than he or she? Graduate stipends pay you barely enough to live- nothing more. If you're looking to bank it in life with respect to salary, academic research (or research in general) is not the way to go.
I am also in the lab animal med camp. In fact, I'm eagerly awaiting the results of the residency match this February. I'd echo what my esteemed colleagues have said on this board- it has become a very difficult game to secure an LAM residency slot, and you'll be competing with people like myself who have a graduate research degree, multiple years of full time work as a staff scientist, and a crap ton of clinical LAM experience obtained during the veterinary years. Selection committees will be able to see straight through an application that doesn't scream 'I want to be a lab animal vet more than anything else in this world and have sacrificed significantly to get there.' LAM should not be a back-up for a research career. If you want to do big time science, get the PhD- NOT via an LAM residency. As a resident, much of your time will be spent attending to regulatory and clinical matters. Yes, you'll do research (more at some programs than others), but you'll also have responsibilities in other arenas, responsibilities that can't be blown off because you'd rather work on a research project. It's a very bad idea to apply for a LAM residency position because you want to make more money than you would in a straight up graduate position. That's insulting to people like me who genuinely want to practice LAM (regardless of what I'm paid), especially in today's competitive market.
I caution you from diving into a research career before gaining a full understanding of what the job entails (beyond the grad student stage). We're here to help should you have specific questions. Good luck!
