Anne Carpenter wrote:
[stuff deleted]
> I am wondering if it would
> be better to earn a master's, work a little while, and decide later if I
> should work towards a PhD.
IMHO, if you want to get some work experience, you DON'T need the
masters degree. Most places hire techs straight out of their BS
program. I also think it's a good idea to get some experience
before committing yourself to a PhD....it's a big commitment for
someone straight out of school who perhaps hasnt got much else
to compare it to yet.
> Another question, sparked by a recent post...I am leaning towards industry,
> but I am not totally decided yet. It sounds like it would be
> ill-advised to mention my interest in industry to advisors, etc. as they
> see this as a bad thing. Unfair or not, is this a real problem? Would
> people view me differently if I plan on a career in industry?
>
Speaking as one of THEM (ie, advisors), I would view a student
who was considering a career in industry as someone working to
keep her options open, and NOT a bad thing at all, as long as she
keeps ALL her options open. And speaking solely
on the basis of the science, there is a LOT of research that academics
can't afford to do and will have to be done in industry. The
whole field of genome-wide approaches to the study of biology
for example really requires the sort of financial commitment
and technical development that only industry can give.
Don't assume that all advisors will be negative just because there
are some ostriches with their heads buried. After all,
as a rule no one writes the newsgroups to say how WELL things
are going, and there are (I hope) a lot of lurkers out there
who get decent advice, good letters, emcouragement, and actually get
along with their PIs.
Right, Debbie? ;-)
--susan
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Susan L Forsburg PhD forsburg at salk.edu
The Salk Institute vox: 619-453-4100 x1341
10010 N Torrey Pines Rd fax: 619-453-4765
La Jolla CA 92037 www: flosun.salk.edu/~forsburg/
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