> I hope this isn't too off topic...but I'm really curious. I am an
> undergraduate majoring in molecular and cell biology, with an emphasis in
> immunology. I am planning on eventually getting a Ph.D.
>> Approximately, what is the average starting salary for an immunologist
> post-doc? Also, how is the job market? Is it pretty difficult to get a
> job?
>> Thanks,
> Anish
Dear Anish:
You've asked many questions here that could be addressed in many
different ways. I think that the FIRST question which you should ask
yourself, though, is not necessarily about income or marketability (I'm
not "downplaying" either one, however) but about your true interests and
ambitions: without strong marks in both of these areas, which will be
required to make it through a graduate program with strength behind your
emerging status as a new professional in the field, starting salary and
job market mean absolutely nothing. (As for post-doctoral salaries, in
my mind a post-doc position is a continuation of the learning experience
begun as a graduate student...it is a "transition" to the independence
of being a full Principle Investigator, and "salary" may be a moot
point: one incredible post-doc position may pay hardly anything, while
another post-doc position of work which is mundane or largely irrelevant
to your interests may pay considerably higher...in this case, you need
to ask yourself if you are simply seeking MONETARY or EDUCATIONAL
FULFILLMENT which will broaden your future horizons and open doors on
down the road)...
You get out of life whatever you put into it...don't limit yourself to a
narrow time-window based on monetary "instant returns", but instead
think about the "big picture" and what you really want to get out of
obtaining a Ph.D.
(Just two cents passed on to you from an immunology grad student),
Kiley R. Prilliman
Department of Microbiology & Immunology
University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
phone: 405-271-1203
fax: 405-271-3117
