Should you do a PhD?

For a career in bioinformatics, should you do a PhD?
Topics:
* What the degree gets you versus what you learn from your PhD experience.
* How much a PhD is necessary for academic versus industry jobs.
* The ceiling you may hit without a PhD.
* Masters versus PhD.
* A story about a friend who worked in industry and then started a PhD.

[peersvensson]

You're right that In Europe you generally do a master's first (the UK is a bit of an outlier), but at the same time a bachelor's is usually three years instead of four, mainly because they're more focused as you're barely required to take any courses not related to your major. There are actually many five year programs where you get both a bachelor's and a master's, so the undergrad vs grad school divide isn't quite the same (it comes at the PhD). In the end, the amount of coursework is probably about the same, as you do a lot of it in your first years of US grad school.

Regarding the duration of the PhD, it's true that several countries enforce certain timelines, for example in France and Italy it's basically impossible to stay more than 3-3.5 years because you'll be kicked out, or at the very least lose your funding, but in Sweden it's minimum 4 years and typically 5 once teaching is included, however there is a lot of coursework too. In Germany, Austria and Switzerland it's not uncommon for people to have very long PhDs, even 6 years or more (with basically zero coursework), however it can vary a lot from institution to institution, and even individual PIs. If your PI has funding he can pay you for a long time if he wants to, the uni won't intervene.

[martinliza]

I am actually doing what your friend did. I worked for 3.5yrs in 2 different engineering jobs and did a MS, before quitting my full time eng to pursue my PhD. I just finished my first semester and I am realizing that I hold higher standards own my work my peers. Furthermore, a lot of the things that I did learn in industry are carrying over and it definitely gives you a leg up against peers that have not had industry experience before. Specially in a field such as engineering.

Great video!

[chalee]

Thank you so much for this video!!! Ur sharing is helpful!!

[ankushsawarkar]

Thank you very much, I am accidentally visit you channel but its very useful to me. Specially about PhD and the dedication required for it.

[HouseofEl]

This was very valuable input! I was recently covering a similar topic, as well. Thanks so much for sharing this.

[BretMiller]

Thank you for making this video. It is the most helpful of any video that I have seen on this topic. I am currently considering a PhD in biomedical and health informatics. I already have a masters degree. I'm actually working on my second masters degree right now. I want to do the PhD for the challenge of doing it as well as the hope that my research could be used to help someone in some way.

[asifsiddique]

Thank you so much! You answered many of questions which I never got chance to ask. ❤

[sweetsa]

Thanks you so much for this great explanation, now I am studying Masters degree in Bioinformatics, and my goal is to do PHD in Bioinformatics.

[kwamebuabeng]

Great content! This really helped me out. I happen to be in the same situation as your firend who set out to work right after college and did her PhD after. I am also looking to apply for a straight PhD without doing any masters.

[AmanUllah-tkwt]

@OMGenomics Dr Natasha please make a video on "WGCNA analysis in R". May be a 5 min comprehensive video. And, if you had time, one on "Mendelian Randomization". I understand your busy routine but then again who can teach R like you do! Regards, Dr Aman

[Biomeducated]

3:43 EXACTLY why I left my former biotech company as a M.Sc with 5 years experience and went on to get a PhD (Belgium). Even though the company did allow you to climb the ladder, I imagined there was going to be a ceiling somewhere + the company was about to be taken over by big pharma, so no certainty if the social mobility would still be feasible under big pharma wings!
18:24 Correct! First M.Sc, then PhD. From what I've understood only selected uni's in US/UK and probably some other countries do this PhD right after undergrad type of thing, but then really you still get theory, right? So it's more or less an integrated M.Sc in a PhD. Typically count 4 years of PhD in Europe!
19:50 OMG so relatable! <3

Great and thorough overview!
Cheers from a 30 y/o 2nd year PhD student in Biomed ;)

[wildzubatappeared]

Thanks my 2 bioinformatics PHD friends said that if you want to research then do it but it you want just industry work then save the stress 😂.
My goal is to pay off my loan
Save money to get my masters degree bioinformatics
Then live a simple life

[adele]

Hi Maria,
Do you have any advice for someone with a molecular biology background considering a Bioinformatics PhD? What do you think are the most relevant research/development areas that will meet industry needs in the near furture? Thanks.

[minhaoling]

Hi, I had my bachelor in mathematics and I am going to start my master's by research in biostatistics/bioinformatics. I have a question. Is a prestigious university important for a Ph.D. program? And what else can I do except (possibly opting for a publication) to build my portfolio to increase the chance of admission? (I might be at a disadvantage since I have bachelor in maths from unknown Asia university.

[josecantu]

Yeah, I'm thinking of doing my master's first in bioinformatics, working for a year, and then judging from my own experiences & talking to PhDs in the company I might go ahead and do the Ph.D. I wonder if I should do my Ph.D. in Europe for 3-4 years then though since it'll be faster vs in the USA for 5-7 years depending on which program I look at?

[junitasolin]

Will it be incredibly draining to shift from plant sciences in bachelor to do PhD in bioinformatics/genomics ?

[vikiluch]

Can I apply on Phd in Bioinformatics after MS Epidemiology (Moscow University?)

[Garcia-elf]

I have two years left of mine but I don’t think I want to do a post doc since I don’t think I want to be a PI. However, I’m torn since so much in industry seems soooo boring. Worrying about sales is about as depressing as it gets.

[purplelolipp]

Hi, thank you so much for answering most of the questions I have about a PhD in Bioinformatics. May I ask if it was a struggle for you when you first started doing a PhD in Bioinformatics with a Bachelor’s degree in Biology? My major was in Biology as well and I have worked as a research assistant (non-Bioinformatics research) for two years before deciding to save up for a Masters in Biomedical Data Science. My intention for taking the Masters first is that I am afraid I will not be able to cope with the CS aspect in the Bioinformatics PhD, thus I feel that it would be safer to learn data science and some CS through this Masters? I’m not sure if this step is necessary as going for the Masters would mean spending my savings on it. Hope to seek some advice on this from you. Thank you!

[haraldurkarlsson]

Maria,

Well stated.

I have a few thoughts and suggestions on the matter.

Getting a PhD is a serious decision that will affect one for the rest of their lives. The first step is to choose a good PhD program. I would say if you are are foreigner then do not attend a university in the US unless you have a stipend from the institution (or are independently wealthy). Remember a PhD does NOT guarantee a job a the end of long hard road. If your primary concern is money then you should not do PhD. Professors in the US are often poorly paid especially at state schools. Often the "worst" assignments (large intro classes for instance) are given to assistant professors who are also expected to supervise graduate students, bring in grants and publish (or perish). Check the department startup package and the institution's promotion policy. Look at the class structure within the faculty. Is there fat middle? If the associate professor group is large compared to assistant professors and full professors then there may be problem with the promotion policy. Also check the pay structure (which should be publicly available by law) for state institutions. Be careful viewing summary stats since there may be a bi-modal distributions in the associate professor class). Many institutions offer assistant professors decent starting salaries, then a minor (compared to companies) raise upon receiving tenure, but after the salaries stall or stagnate for the associate professors. Their salaries erode over time. This is explained away with term "salary compression" (if a company did that it would be in serious trouble). Some institutions have "merit" raises which are rather skimpy and the definition of what constitutes "merit" is often left up to individual department chairs. In these merit raises the teaching loads are typically ignored (even though the primary role of most state schools is to "teach"). Therefore you have two choices 1) make a big fuss 2) threaten to leave, Most faculty stay in their jobs because they love what they are doing and love the freedom they have. Hence most stay. Often there are family and/or health reasons. They have put down roots and if they have children like school system.

If you have your heart set on becoming a professor you might consider this path: 1) get a PhD at a good institution 2) do a post-doc (don't do too many) 3) take a job with a company or national lab that does research 4) spend 5-10 years there. 5) apply for "special" faculty positions when they come up. Many US universities, especially when there is a turnover at the top administrate level (dean, provost or president) will have "strategic" hires. Top-level administrator need to make their mark and impress the brass. They might decide to hire high-level researchers and/or establish a new group (these days biotech, environmental, climate change, and/or data science fields are popular). At that point you can enter a department as a full professor with mostly teaching responsibilities and a low teaching load. The same holds for "chaired" positions in departments (special faculty funded by an endowment).


Please note this is my personal view on the matter and I am sure others may have different experiences or opinions.