It is also possible to go somewhere in between: become a professional researcher associated with a lab. Upsides: - Your technical skills will distinguish you

It is also possible to go somewhere in between: become a professional researcher associated with a lab. Upsides: - Your technical skills will distinguish you from the crowd - Working on interesting research problems - Perks of academic life, and probably a fair amount of independence - You won't have to write a whole bunch of grants Downsides: - Pay is less - Your job still depends on the lab getting funding (with a few exceptions) - A lot fewer jobs available overall - You may not get to choose the problems you work on, like you would if you were a PI (but may get the freedom to choose how you work on them) Anyway, its the compromise I took, because the standard academic track is a brutal grind, and I have a family to feed.