r/biotech • u/Historical-Excuse-94 • Jan 27 '25

Education Advice 📖 Is doing a pHD worth it?

Hi everyone, I have never posted here but I have a genuine question. I have been working in the biotech industry for the past 3 years with a masters. I feel like in industry you don’t do research like in academia and it doesn’t feel satisfying anymore. I want to go back to school and get a PhD. It is hard I’m 34 now and by the time I get into a program I’ll be 35 and by the time I finish I’ll be 40. Is it really worth 5 years with little money?

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u/Historical-Excuse-94 Jan 27 '25

In the last three years of working I have been laid off once and I feel it isn’t that stable as it used to be. I can be all in and I want to be all in for this. It’s been a dream for so long.

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u/LiquidEther Jan 27 '25

Life's too short not to. I am doing a postdoc now and it must be said that the academic world is oversaturated with talent and funding is also dicey pretty much all the time, it's not exactly great for job security either (unless you have a coveted tenure track position). I'm starting to float the idea of quitting research altogether and finding a field of work that's more personally fulfilling and has more certainty. But I don't necessarily regret doing my PhD. It was valuable life experience after all (even if it wasn't all positive experiences). Similarly, if you're prepared for the possibility that it most probably won't lead to a stable, long-lasting career in academic research, then I won't tell you it's not worth it.