Why did you choose to go after a phd? What are your career goals? Additionally; do you think you can make a decent living in the field?
ooo tough Qs (soz for late reply to this I forgot how to access inbox on mobile) also this is going to be stupidly long feel free to scroll by if this doesn’t interest you— but if you’re interested in grad school I think this is beneficial!
— little bit of context before I answer this. so basically in undergrad I came in loving biology but not medicine, so I knew I wanted something research related. joined a lab, discovered plant ecology, liked it enough I wanted to keep going. one of my professors offered to let me into a grad grant writing class if I was interested and I said why not? I had thought about grad school* and figured might as well keep my options open.
so I take the grant class and submit something called the nsf grfp (all USA students should DO THIS) which is like a practice science proposal; the materials u submit are evaluated to see if you show potential as a scientist, you’re not actually expected to do exactly the science you propose. also— part of the reason i did this in undergrad— it’s technically a grant for grad students and you only get one try to apply, but if you apply before you have had any graduate schooling (no masters not in a phd program or anything) you get an extra application. and they give u feedback, so in my mind I was like okay cool I can just do it for the practice and when I actually am ready to go I’ll revise it and reapply. also it’s like the same format as grad applications so u can just reuse ur writing.
during the class I was also being told to think big picture about what I wanted so I just went on linkedin and indeed and googled research ecologist and looked for jobs that sounded fun; most of them required at least a masters unless I wanted to be doing grunt work (therein lies the practical reason for the phd).
and so I wrote the proposal and then used it to make some grad apps and submitted them in that winter and was like cool okay at least I can say I did it for the experience! and I had gotten some emails back from some profs** that were interested in taking me which was super exciting and I started to think it was a real possibility!! I even got flown out for an interview w one school.
but then I got rejected and I was like okay cool I’m probably not mentally ready for phd yet anyway, life is so much and I am small and should try to live a little first before staying in school, so I had started applying to research tech and field seasonal positions. I figured it would be good experience to keep my science skills up to look good for apps later. and for practical experience.
but then — after I had fully switched gears in my job hunt, come to terms with the idea of not doing grad school, dealt w the disappointment and pain of rejection — I got the grant award that I had applied for way at the start of this.
and that changed everything!! it doesn’t allow u to delay or postpone the award, so I emailed the school that rejected me and a few others and they were like “wait…. free money???” and accepted me lmao. I decided I couldn’t turn down this opportunity, an (almost) free ride to grad school is like winning the fucking lottery; so I ended up committing to my first choice school (not the ppl that I got rejected from dw)! so yeah. a combination of potential job, overarching interest, and sheer dumb luck.
— since then I think my career goals are changing constantly. I want to be a researcher as a career, and theres a few ways to do that: as an academic faculty at a university, as a government scientist, a contractor for an company (i.e. enviro consulting, which technically isn’t research but I am considering it), or a consulting scientist for a non profit. all of them have infinite pros and cons. I’ll …. get back to you on a definite answer for this. but I’m currently attempting to tailor my CV to be a good candidate for govt labs (i.e national labs, coastal commission, SERC, etc). but I’m currently dealing with the ethical issues of working for the us govt so ….. again a later problem…
— decent living….. honestly I don’t think I’ll starve, but it won’t be lavish. I’m lucky enough to have familial support and an partner who makes stable income. so I have the privilege of being more secure in selecting this career. because a lot of scientists do live paycheck to paycheck. grad school stipends are peanuts. I would be struggling to afford groceries if I wasn’t living with my partner. but it is doable— and I know plenty of people who have found financial success.
I think enviro consulting or industry routes are the most profitable post grad. other people take on multiple roles at once. I’ll let you know when I get there. lowest I’ve seen hiring for a phd recently was like 50k/yr, highest was probably 110k (USD). idk if that’s helpful at all.
but yeah. that’s kind of the career stuff. it’s very anxiety inducing. but doable. so if this is interesting to you or a passion— do it!! the worst you can do is try and figure out it doesn’t work for you.
thanks for the ask— I hope this answered your question, sorry for the stupidly long response and not replying sooner!
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* I specifically picked phd bc in the US masters programs are typically not paid for, but phds are (tuition and stipend)
** in ecology you email professors directly to join their lab and they can decide if they want to accept you or not (based on interests or funding etc)
