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comment by Reef3
Reef3  ·  3725 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Too Few University Jobs For America's Young Scientists

I've been following this series and was going to share today's as well. As a person who works in science and graduated with my Master's only a few years ago, I saw this coming and decided not to get my Phd, and avoid biomedical science, due to the seeming overabundance of unemployed Phds in the job market. In the article the author mentions that there are plenty of Phd-level jobs in industry, but I haven't seen that to be true. I spent the past 7 months job hunting after the start-up I was working at ran into trouble and was able to find a position that fits me fairly well, but the competition for any research or lab position is fierce. Some of the more experienced scientists I worked with still haven't found anything. Plus, at biotech companies it seems like you need both a Phd and an MBA if you work outside the lab.

While I have a plan and am early in my career, one of my fears is that I will be stuck in a similar position without opportunity for advancement, or be forced to continually settle for a lower position every time I need a new job.