Hi All,

I am facing a dilemma about my plans after graduation. I am a student in the US in Life Sciences discipline graduating in May 2007. I understand that there's not much out there jobwise just with a BS degree. I am planning to go to grad school sooner or later. However, ideally I would like to take work for couple of months or a year before I decide which program that I want to go into (although I do have a few options in mind).A lot of people that I have talked with (including my advisor) don't think this would be a good ideato take a break. In addition to this, I am also deciding between a masters and a PhD program. For now I want to able to acquire skills that will enable me to work in the industry. I also don't feel that I am ready to commit for the next five years. Thats why I think Masters will be a better option. However, with my preliminary research I have discovered that most schools/departments don't provide you funding for masters. One option for me would be to take up a job (if I find one) that would pay partially for my degree and study part-time. I am not aware of any other sources of funding. I would be really grateful if the "wise ones" of sajha would provide me with some insight and suggestions regarding my situation.

Although you are not ready to commit for 5 years, you can still join a Phd program. Depending on the school and program, about 2 years from your start date, you will face Qualifying Examination. After you complete that, you can quit the program, which will automatically give you Masters.

If you are seriously thinking about going to grad school, you probably should submit all your applications by end of December.

If you have a PhD, I don't think it matters much whether you have previous industry experience. Every year companies hire a lot of people with PhDs with no previous work experience. Hope this helps.

If you are not ready to jump to grad school right after graduation, its not a bad idea to go on OPT for a year. Within that one year time frame, you can make some money by finding a job and also really think about where you would like to head in the future. While you are still in school, its hard to get a fresh perspective coz all you have been doing is studying.
Why do you think you wont get funding for masters? I think you are discouraging yourself by assuming that there is no funding. You wont know about it until you explore the universities and programs. I had no problem finding funding and I went from undergrad to grad without working in between. Like Lilo said, you can join a Ph.D. program and quit after masters if you dont feel that you are cut out for academic career. But I wouldnt advise that coz I find it morally wrong to make others (advisors, profs, school) believe you are committed to something just to get money..when you have no intention of actually getting your Ph.D. Its entirely up to you though.

Dont let your assumptions run your life, get out there and explore.

Better you do some investigations - by online and correspondence. There is chance that most of the graduate programs provide some kind of assitantship - eiother Teaching Assitance or Research Assitance. It may be even grading paper. If you get one you can complete you graduate school easily. Also if you are determined for higher study it may be better to serach for university with Masters leading to PHD. If you are able to find one - You can earn your PHD within 5 years after your bachelors degree.

Getting a teaching or research assistantship for masters degree is not easy. I would suggest finding scholorship/fellowship before you commit to your degree. If you have to worry about how you are going to pay your bills every month, that is not going to reflect well on your classes/research. Unlike in undergrad, you are not going to have 3 months off to catch up with your bills.

I do agree that it is morally incorrect to join a Phd program when your intention is to quit after masters degree. But, after joining the program, you may change your mind. 5 years is not a long period of time and you may love your research.

From what I have seen, I wouldn't suggest anyone just going for a Masters degree without assistantship before you start the program (if you have a choice). I would go for a PhD.

Thanks lilo, Bostongirl and nepal_ko_lato for your suggestions.

Lilo,
Yes I have considered the option of quitting after two years (if I am enrolled in a PhD program). Like you said, I might even like my program a lot and stick around till I get a PhD. I am going to be applying to few PhD programs and some Masters program (if I find a possibility for support). I am just worried my credentials don't make me a strong enough candidate for application to a PhD program. I have a GPA >3.5. But I have very less research experience. Couple of schools that I have looked into have very early deadlines (as early as first week of December). I am worried that I might not have enough time to apply. I have started with the applications and am also taking GRE pretty soon. I am just looking at different options right now.

Bostongirl,
The only place that I have looked to find if there is support availabe for Masters is in the University's website. I have also talked with quite a number of people and they've told me that its not as easy to find support for Masters as opposed to PhD programs. I am not aware of any other external sources of funding (unlike social sciences and the likes where there's lot of support from different foundations). Please enlighten me if you know of any such sources that provide support for a masters degree in Life Sciences. Yes, its definitely true that I have done as much research into it as I should have. I will do so. In the mean time any help/suggestions/direction/guidance would be much appreciated. Also, I'd rather go for a Masters program that is fully supported than consider joining a PhD just for the heck of getting the money.

Nepal-ko-lato,
I have been looking at both Masters and 5-yr PhD programs. I have done some research and have started my application to few schools.

One more question for you guys. Is it important to get in touch with a professor who's involved in research area of your interest before you actually submit the application? My advisor is asking me to do some research about different profs and their area of study and then choose my program. Is it ok if I get in touch with them after I have submitted the application.

I think it is extremely important that you contact professors before you apply specifically with research oriented higher studies.

Junkiri, you might want to visit the site, one of whose aims is to help students exactly like in your position:

-www.nepal-biomed.org

Here's my PERSONAL take on the subject:

I was exactly in your position not so long ago.....by popular demand we used to call ourselves suffering from senioritis! The dilemma was basically the same whether to go for higher education (betterment of yourself as some people would like to refer to) or to have OPT for a year and explore your interests. It was so frustrating nearing graduating as both options looked very bleak especially for being in life science.

So, reluctantly, i applied to four schools, gave GRE on a real off beat day and applied to jobs every where I could see the light at the end of the tunnel. I was invited to two interviews after week long elaboration on my status that I could work, though my OPT paperwork which my int'l coordinator really screwed up hadn't arrived. To my amazement, i was instantly offered the job. It was for a lab tech position. I was happy at first cause it was in a renowned university and thus, made perfect sense to explore my interest further and learn more and apply to grad schools in the distant future.

However, what was so disappointing was: my work schedule would be hectic from morning to evening. I was to sign a two year contract and above all, the pay was minimum. when i mean minimum, i was gonna get paid less than any other person with a bachelor's degree. Fortunately, out of the blues, i got accepted for the phd program and what i realized then, if i had to get more experience, i'd rather get it in a academic setting. It didn't make sense to work elsewhere to get more experience.

I wonder why people like to call PHD a five year committment or what not. I'd like to take it as a training where you learn as much as you can the tools to do independant research. Like someone mentioned earlier, you always have the option to quit which passes my mind every other day when things aren't going as great :). Yes, unlike other fields, research is critical in life sciences applying to grad school, but more than that its also PURE LUCK. As much as you might not agree, how you present yourself POSITIVELY in the application might bear a lot of weight.

Though everyone mentions contacting professors ahead of time, i had a very unpleasant experience trying to do that :). thus different strokes for different folks. if your research experience is minimum, i'd rather you focus on your application, gre, and REALLY GOOD recommendations. As far as my understanding go, its not that they want to take the most brilliant and studenst with most experience, but rather the POTENTIAL of a candidate to succeed at a graduate level.

and on a final note, if you want to have a career in life sciences, i think unlike all other fields, its better to stay in school and look for jobs later after you have a higher degree. Just my personal thought though, unless you want to go absolutely tangent to your field. And OH YAH! do not underestimate yourself like most people tend to do

my two cents...

my 2 cents ... may b i am repeating again.

====================================================
after undergrad we rarely know what we want to do. but there are some exceptions. if you know what you want do it (O: . otherwise,

1. go out to full time work.
this will give you a fresh outlook as to what you want to do. whether you would like to be in acedemia or industry. or just work in either. in the mean time you will be able to fill the $$ pit that you emptied for your undergrad. Reason i am saying that is you can never go for grad studies with that money "haunting" you.

2. after working for 2 years. think if you want to go for grad school. if you just want masters then you can continue both [ i.e. work and study ] but if you really want to get PhD then. get in school full time. finish your masters and everything including your qualifying exam ASAP.
[ you would have already spent @ least 4-5 years based on your requirements] then you can really think whether that's what you want. if so then finish your last stretch and get your phd other wise get back to INDUSTRY and printing $$$.

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as always,
once again what do i know (O:

Thanks Oys & thapap for your 2 cents ;)

Oys,

I am aware of the Nepal bio-med website and have checked out the info over there. Although the FAQ section is quite informative, I have noticed that the website itself is pretty dead (esp. the discussion forum).
As for my situation, I think a Master's degree would suffice for what I want to do later professionally (although I might be wrong and find out about it only later). The real problem is being able to finance my education. Working/ going to school part-time might be an option, but if I were to go full-time (which I would prefer to), I would have a hard time finding schools that would provide me any support (through assistantships, grants, fellowships etc.) Following Bostongirl's advice, I did some research on few schools that I am thinking of applying and so far I haven't found any that fund Master's students. Few of them have fellowships that you could apply for after you've finished one or more semesters. So for now I am just applying to few PhD programs and also look for jobs just to keep my options open.

Thapap,

I think I'll just cover my grounds for now and look for all possible options. I guess time and my fate will decide where I land up.

Hi Junkiri,
From your first post, it just sounded like you had given up before actually doing your share of research. I was wrong and I am glad that you are dedicated to go back to school if you can find the resourced you need.

Speaking from my own experience, I had made a decision while I was still a sophomore that I would go to grad school and I didnt wanna work for a year under OPT. So I had my GPA and research credentials in good shape and got admission to a grad school a semester before I actually finished my bachelors. I understand your pain and frustration in not finding funding sources easily. But you need to realize is no one is gonna INVITE you to take their money away..you have to go get it yourself. Thats why the university financial web pages are very brief and vague and dont really tell you how much help you might get.
Your best bet is to look at the programs you like and contact the department head directly. If they have more information...find the professor that you would like to work under (look at their research and prior experience) and email them directly. Express your interest in the program and be agressive about what you can contribute. If you feel like you dont have enough experience...dont worry, they dont expect an undergrad student to have much...they are looking for someone they can groom and mould and you just have to show that you are willing to learn and be taught. Be in touch with the profs regularly, tell them you are serious about your academic career and you would need financial help (tell them you earn it...they dont wanna serve you money in a silver platter).
The school I went to still says in their website that they expect graduate students to fund their own education and that financial assistant is very 'limited'. As far as I know, 23 of the grad students got fully funded+ stipened. So dont get discouraged by what you see in the website...talk to the professors and tell them how dedicated you are.

Good luck!

Hi Oys,
I really liked your 2 cents and was wondering if you would be kind enough to answer some of my questions...
The first thing is, how did the interview go and did they ask you if you knew what was kind of research the university had? Did they ask you why you wanted to join that specific institute?
When I read different datas they always say that about 400 people apploed for a phd and only 15 got in so how tough do u think it is to get in?
And last, how many colleges did u apply to?
Thanks in advance for your answers.:D