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I am currently pursuing MS in Biological Sciences on animal behavior. I want to do Phd then Post-doc and then continue in the science field. But I am not very t

by pks016 9y ago

I am currently pursuing MS in Biological Sciences on animal behavior. I want to do Phd then Post-doc and then continue in the science field. But I am not very talented. Most probably I may get stuck after Phd or Post doc. I don't want job. But looking into these kinds of articles now and then, make me think "what are the alternatives ?" What about the people who do basic science like in theoretical physics or pure maths?

tom_mellior 9y ago
There are different possibilities for doing research. Note how the current top comment here talks of becoming a "professor", and the featured article talks about "permanent staff position[s] at a university". If what you want is to do research, then what you want is not necessarily one of these. There are lots of research labs, both public and private, where you can get a permanent position. If you're in animal behavior, you might end up in a zoo, doing research part time or full time. These positions are overlooked by these articles since there you are not a "professor" at a "university". In other words, "X% of PhDs become professors" is a very misleading statistic. But yeah, that is still not enough to employ all the PhDs out there. I think in theoretical physics or math you just end up going into finance...
thicknavyrain 9y ago
I’m doing a PhD in Theoretical Physics, I hedge the uncertainty of academia by finding small opportunities in other fields to do work in. Internships in science communication, teaching at the university, part time work for a tech start up. On their own, none of them are a safety net for jumping out of academia if you have to, but if you accumulate enough experience over the years, the hope is that transitioning to industry goes a bit smoother. There’s also a few fellowship/transitional schemes opening up for PhDs in esoteric fields to go into things like Data Science/Software Development. I think you just have to keep a level head and pursue things while it seems reasonable and always keep in mind the dream can pop at any moment and you may have to move around and go into something else.
- pks016 9y ago
  Yeah. That's a good piece of advice. I usually spend time on data analysis, learning computer security, web designing or any tech related stuff but as hobby only. I know basic of these things but not a "pro" in one field. I guess better to keep learning new things, any time opportunities might pop up as you have said.
rjsw 9y ago
I hope you like kids. All my biology teachers in high school had done research degrees and found that there were not very many research jobs available.
rerx 9y ago
> What about the people who do basic science like in theoretical physics or pure maths? In my experience, those who did not do numerical work mostly look into positions in management consulting, finance, or insurance.

by pks016 9y ago

tom_mellior 9y ago

There are different possibilities for doing research. Note how the current top comment here talks of becoming a "professor", and the featured article talks about "permanent staff position[s] at a university". If what you want is to do research, then what you want is not necessarily one of these. There are lots of research labs, both public and private, where you can get a permanent position. If you're in animal behavior, you might end up in a zoo, doing research part time or full time. These positions are overlooked by these articles since there you are not a "professor" at a "university". In other words, "X% of PhDs become professors" is a very misleading statistic. But yeah, that is still not enough to employ all the PhDs out there. I think in theoretical physics or math you just end up going into finance...

thicknavyrain 9y ago

I’m doing a PhD in Theoretical Physics, I hedge the uncertainty of academia by finding small opportunities in other fields to do work in. Internships in science communication, teaching at the university, part time work for a tech start up. On their own, none of them are a safety net for jumping out of academia if you have to, but if you accumulate enough experience over the years, the hope is that transitioning to industry goes a bit smoother. There’s also a few fellowship/transitional schemes opening up for PhDs in esoteric fields to go into things like Data Science/Software Development. I think you just have to keep a level head and pursue things while it seems reasonable and always keep in mind the dream can pop at any moment and you may have to move around and go into something else.

pks016 9y ago
Yeah. That's a good piece of advice. I usually spend time on data analysis, learning computer security, web designing or any tech related stuff but as hobby only. I know basic of these things but not a "pro" in one field. I guess better to keep learning new things, any time opportunities might pop up as you have said.

rjsw 9y ago

I hope you like kids. All my biology teachers in high school had done research degrees and found that there were not very many research jobs available.

rerx 9y ago

> What about the people who do basic science like in theoretical physics or pure maths? In my experience, those who did not do numerical work mostly look into positions in management consulting, finance, or insurance.