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What to do with my life?

  • Thread starter Pyro
  • Start date

Pyro

N=R* fs fp ne fl fi fc L
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I just need to ramble. Finality is settling and it is a weird looking beast.

So... After 5 year my boss has decided that I have pretty much met the requirements for my PhD. He informed me that he wants me to defend by no later than May.

Which begs the question "What next?"

My answer: I have no clue.

I honestly have no idea what I want to do or where I want to go. Quite the cunundrum. What exactly does one do with a PhD in bacterial genetics? I have to say, the picture of a fire tower in Idaho has appeal... For no reason other than I have not the slightest idea what else to do with my life.
 
Find a nice post doc at some University or Institute. You can milk those for another 5-10 years if you play your politics right.
 
CDC! That's what I'd try to do first. Or the government. I dunno how government pay is, though.
 
A research position at a bio tech/engineering firm is another possibility.
 
NYC has gotta lotta BioTech companies, it's the fastest growing buisiness here I've heard.
 
Most people I know with PHD's in science end up doing research. What was your dissertation about? Could you send it out to some bio corps and see if they might be interested in what you have been studying or researching? Although, you might be tired of your current topic of study, but it might get you a foot in the door and you could expand from there.

I dunno how government pay is, though.
I'm guessing pretty lousy compared to the private sector, but probably enough to live a comfortable life.

xvart.

edit: or you could write bio thriller novels and become a bestseller. One of these days I would like to write a science fiction book but that will have to wait until... I don't know... I'm retired?
 
Try to pull down some grant funds to develop some commercial applications for CP enzymes, like Nepenthes cheese.
 
NaN,

Most post-doc only last 5 years. Beyond that and it starts to look like you are unproductive. Plus part of the reason for a post-doc is to build up a good publishing record. I actually took off a few years before going for my degree and I have 6 papers from that time (and I'll have 2 more when I finish). So basically my paper trail is in good order and I can probably skip a post-doc. Also, post-docs tend to be for those on the tenure track and I don;t want to be a prof.

Clint,

THought about CDC and am still thinking about it. My one issue there is that the current administration has appointed a head who is more about pulling the party line and less about research. I don;t know if I could deal with that kind of environment. And FYI, CDC is government :)

Quogue,

Not too fond of the idea of NYC, or anywhere north of DC for that matter. Being in the south has spoiled me both in terms of climate and the social nature of people.

Xvart,

Research is a pretty big field and there in lays the problem. Researching what? I have been working on the regulation of a stress killing factor in B. subtilis. No real market value in it and no cross over as it is unique to the species. Theoretically I could go after any bacteria that is being worked on but... Which one?

Throck,

I have a feeling the number of labs doing pure research on CPs is pretty slim and I doubt I could be a self funded self maintained lab all on my own.


Man I feel like a pessimist
 
Some questions to help you decide:

What was your plan as you were going for you PhD? Did something change, and if so, why? What type of work is rewarding to you? Does your education offer you the opportunity to make the world better in some way?
 
  • #10
what part of your work is more interesting to you, the genetics or the microbiology? I know, they kind of go hand-in-hand, but would you rather be working on, say, infectious diseases, or genomes? Do you see yourself in a lab, in an office, out in the field...?

also..take comfort in the fact that you're WAY ahead of the game as far as finding a science job. from what I discovered through my recent job search, it's very difficult if you don't have at least a master's; PhDs are relatively high in demand.
 
  • #11
I kinda know how you feel Pyro. Except I haven't gotten as far as you. :p I can't decide what I want my career to be....sooooo many choices though.
 
  • #12
Pulling the party line? What's that mean?

Lol, I had no idea CDC was government lol
 
  • #13
People want to achieve success, but in many cases they don't prepare in advance for what they should do when they finally succeed. One success is usually the first step toward the next goal. Life is a trek to waystations higher and higher on a mountain that has no top. Figure out what motivates you, then figure out how you can get into motiviting situations.
 
  • #14
Dave,

When I decided to get my PhD it was because I knew that to get anywhere it was what I would need. There were lots of things that held interest for me then that are not as interesting now (bio-defense) or that just do not have a serious area in the field (phage therapy). And I admit part of the problem is in my head as I know my mindset and whatever I do go for now I will likely get bored with in time. My current organism is a case in point. B. subtilis is a great bug and I still find it interesting but I am bored to tears with it.

Emily,

Really I could swing either way. Microbes are very interesting in and of themselves. Not so much into pathagens but that leaves about 95% of the remaining microbes to look into. Genetics has its own appeal as well, though I have to admit I am not so much into eukaryotes (big things with long generation times take too long LOL).

Clint,

Pulling the party line means that she is basically a Bush lacky. He appointed he because she holds his same views. Nevermind that they are inconflic with most every scientist over there. When the past 15 directors disapprove of her actions and when herr employees have to resort to an open letter to the local newspaper to get the message across that things are being mismanaged then she is obviously not the right person for the job. That her reply to those items was a news conference to say "I make th policies so live with it." Then she really is not the right person for the job.
 
  • #15
Have you ever thought about going to work for a big pharma company ? R & D is always looking for some good people with fresh ideas. You could always work in a micro lab as well. FWIW most people I know in business are working in jobs that don't relate to their degree, sad but true. Take me for example I work in a company but do CP's as a stress reliever. Jimscott's a lab rat from what I hear, speak up man !
 
  • #16
I have (and and still do) consider the pharm option. Pharming can be really good, but at the same time it can be really bad. You are basically at the mercy of what the company wants. So if you take the job because they are working on something you find really interesting there is always the possibility that they might decide later to cut the program and "re-sort" you to somewhere else doing something you don't want to do. One of the profs here had that happen, they tried to put him in HIV research, he declined.

I know Jim is/was a lab rat. He and I have discussed that in the past. (Hey Jim!)
 
  • #17
God.... Our political climate is too polarized...

I always thought it would be AWESOME to be a biopharmacologist (hope I got that right lol) and travel the world looking for new plants and animals than can cure disease.
 
  • #18
You are basically at the mercy of what the company wants. So if you take the job because they are working on something you find really interesting there is always the possibility that they might decide later to cut the program and "re-sort" you to somewhere else doing something you don't want to do.
Isn't that true for most every job? Unless you are the CEO. I say go that route since that seems to interest you, and if they try and push you a direction you don't want to go, make sure you have a "Go to Hell" bank fund to fall back on until you can find another job.

xvart.
 
  • #19
Relax - you're looking for a job, not a lifelong commitment.

What's more important to you; where you are or what you're doing or how much you're making or something else? With that degree, you've given yourself more options than most of us will ever have and what looks right in your 20s might not be what looks right in your 40s.

At 45, I'm looking to start working on a MPH degree because I don't like the direction my environmental career has taken. It still looked like the right path 15 years ago, but I've spent the last 10 trying to go in a new direction. I've decided it's time for a new path.

A career is a journey, not a destination, so just pick a direction and go.
 
  • #20
im glad you guys cant be (or at least act like ) this is so easy.

So what are you going to do with the rest of youre life, Oh i dont know ill figure it out...
 
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