is adv science able to get a high-salary job? (1 Viewer)

[kitkatCEO]

just wanted to noe...coz sum ppl said it does, n' sum said it doesn... =_=

btw...i wanted to major in pharmacology

 

[skyline]

anything in science mate, is peanuts, it will only be ever good if you complete a phd, you wont get the highest pay, but it will still be a lot higher then what you normally end up doing, most people doing science end up doing research, which means peanuts, or secondary school teacher, which is still peanuts, anywho i personally don't think science degrees are the best, they sure sound great, but nonetheless, hopeless unless your well known and hold a phd, a bachelor isnt enough...

 

[tommykins]

mmm peanuts.

 

[piitb]

question is can u even get a job

 

[RogueAcademic]

just wanted to noe...coz sum ppl said it does, n' sum said it doesn... =_=

btw...i wanted to major in pharmacology

What would you say is a high-salary job?

Working as a PhD qualified pharmacologist at a major pharmaceutical company will get you a decent salary. It all depends on how entrepreunurial and enterprising you are in the field of science. I know professors and researchers who have made scientific discoveries or developed drugs etc, started their own biotech company, in this way you can make a pretty decent amount of money. But only if you have the initiative and the smarts to do so. Most science graduates don't end up that way because they do not complete a PhD, or simply that they have zero initiative and/or the ability to maintain an entreprenurial frame of mind, particularly in terms of intellectual property.

 

[Pwnage101]

anything in science mate, is peanuts, it will only be ever good if you complete a phd, you wont get the highest pay, but it will still be a lot higher then what you normally end up doing, most people doing science end up doing research, which means peanuts, or secondary school teacher, which is still peanuts, anywho i personally don't think science degrees are the best, they sure sound great, but nonetheless, hopeless unless your well known and hold a phd, a bachelor isnt enough...

agreed

i have a passion for the sciences (chem, phys, maths, even a bit of bio), but i unfortunately, even with advanced science degrees getting a good-paying job will be hard (although mathematcis seems the most promising and is in demand)

i know 2 people with PhD's in the scientific area, and yeh research or teaching is mainly where you'll end up

however, there are 'related' jobs to science, ealing with application - actuarial studies (maths) & engineering (civil, electrical, mechanical, chemical, etc) come to mind

i'll just have to keep science as a passion for now

 

[Deltan]

just wanted to noe...coz sum ppl said it does, n' sum said it doesn... =_=

btw...i wanted to major in pharmacology

if you want to look at high salary perhaps look elsewhere

ppl only choose science if they have a passion for it.

 

[nchoy]

Not unless you become a CEO LOL

 

[RogueAcademic]

ppl only choose science if they have a passion for it.

Complete and utter BS.

 

[Deltan]

Complete and utter BS.

am i missing something? :\

 

[RogueAcademic]

am i missing something? :\

Yes, you are missing reality.

 

[Rafe14]

Yes, you are missing reality.

What is the reality? can you please elaborate

 

[RogueAcademic]

What is the reality? can you please elaborate

For people starting an undergraduate science degree, only a very very small percentage ever go all the way and complete a PhD. Compare the size of just one first year science lecture class with the number of PhD students in the entire faculty. So to say that they choose science because they have a passion for it is misleading. They may start with passion, or what they think is passion, but obviously for a vast majority of them, it fades away at some point or perhaps reality sinks in. If it was real passion, more of them would be in it for the long haul regardless of the circumstances.

A few might complete an honours degree. Depending on what area of science you graduated in, you may get a job as a research assistant (RA) somewhere where most people may work only for a short while before moving on either to a PhD or something or some place else different. RA is generally understood to be a transient role (most RA work contracts are project-specific or only for 1-2 years to be re-newed later if at all), not many people hang around for too long, and for those who stay in it, it's not usually due to being passionate about it, it's just a job that pays the bills. There is no ambition to go any further (not that there's anything wrong with that if that's what you're happy doing).

The rest of the science graduates end up doing something else in life, probably non-science related, maybe further study in another area.

To be able to go all the way to the top in science, generally speaking, it's a field where you'd need to complete a PhD and then usually a post-doc position or two before you score a good position where you're running your own lab or projects in academia. And at that level, most PhD graduates just want to get a job to pay the bills after having been a student for at least 8-10 years (3 year bachelor degree, 1 year honours, maybe 1-2 years of a masters degree in between, then 3-4 years doing the PhD). It's not so much about passion but rather finally having something you could call a real job, start a family etc.

For most post-PhD scientists working in the public sector (actually quite a few also in the private sector), there's a constant pressure to publish and a constant pressure to apply for grants. That kind of circumstance adds to an already competitive atmosphere and politics can be very harsh at that level. Some researchers, after having spent so much of their lives reaching the point of completing their PhD, aren't in the frame of mind of quitting and doing something else.

For those successful scientists, it is because they were lucky in their career path, or they are naturally scrupulous political players who clawed and manouveured their way to the top. Perhaps you could argue that it comes down to this that they have a passion for. In fact for many scientists at this stage, it's not about the discovery anymore, not about contributing to help mankind by finding a cure for a disease, not about working together to achieve common goals. It's more about how many papers you've published in which journal, reputation, the number of grants (if at all) you are able to score, how many competitors you have who are doing the same research you're doing somewhere else in the world, the politics you have to play..

 

[scora]

maybe you can finish your degree and do postgrad med / pharmacy / dentistry, but maybe that's not for you

i really doubt doing research will get you much $$$, unless you find a cure for cancer

 

[Kalashnikov47]

if you want to look at high salary perhaps look elsewhere

ppl only choose science if they have a passion for it.

GOOD POINT! but it is too much of an idealogue... you dont necessarily need passion to do everything. e.g. the great fashion designer Pierre Cardin had always wanted to be an opera singer, however he was poor when he was young so he left Italy for France and worked for Christian Dior at a slavery wage. He worked as a fasion-designer just to earn a living. The good thing is, Pierre began to sing opera after he became successful in taylorship.

Same thing to science...but the thing is, I was grown up in a renewable energy research institute (and maybe thats why I always HATE science) and my childhood friends' fathers were all scientist. Those science-freaks worked not 8 hours not 10 hours but 20 hours sometimes 24 hours a day.Their glasses were thick as bullet-proof windows and their lunch is usually two slices of plain toast... (I might have exaggerated a bit)

What I just said is something that you need in order to be a GOOD scientist. If you can do none of those, then doing science will probably earn you a "basic" living... but again, if your passion lies on elsewhere but is not that practical, you can always do science-related work and fulfill your own passion at your own time.

also... life is long... so the work you eventually get is not necessarily in line with what you study at uni... i know a man studied IT in UTS then took a job as a student advisor... who knows what wil happen 2moro?

 

[Survivor39]

question is can u even get a job

Don't be an idiot.

 

[Survivor39]

They may start with passion, or what they think is passion, but obviously for a vast majority of them, it fades away at some point or perhaps reality sinks in. If it was real passion, more of them would be in it for the long haul regardless of the circumstances.

But a lot of students do want to go on to a PhD. it's just that there is not enough of Australian Postgraduate Award (APA) or eqivalent to go around and 99% of them are not willing to go on to another 3-4 years of postgraduate study without some help with living expenses.

In a lot of European countries, all of the PhD candidiates gets a scholarship and their scholarships have values equal to that of a real income. Here, it is only $20K p.a., which is not even close to a real income. It's just that science students don't get enough support.

Other than that I agreee with everything else you've said.

 

[RogueAcademic]

But a lot of students do want to go on to a PhD.

A lot of students may want to do a PhD but it's a competitive environment and the students with the best academic performance will usually be selected. Many students either don't make the cut and/or there aren't enough PhD projects out there on offer. You'll get the same situation, more or less, in Europe too.

it's just that there is not enough of Australian Postgraduate Award (APA) or eqivalent to go around and 99% of them are not willing to go on to another 3-4 years of postgraduate study without some help with living expenses.

In a lot of European countries, all of the PhD candidiates gets a scholarship and their scholarships have values equal to that of a real income. Here, it is only $20K p.a., which is not even close to a real income.

The tall poppy syndrome - Australia has long been known for its lack of real support or recognition of its scientists and this is the environment we are faced with. A few things in response to your post above:

1) How much do you mean by 'real income'?

2) Depending on the project, the stipend could be anywhere from $18k to $26k that I've seen advertised or offered. Sometimes people forget this is tax-free, you get to keep all of it without having to report any of it to the ATO. A tax-free amount of $20k p.a., although really nothing to do a song and dance about, is arguably a liveable amount for a student to cover rent, basic utilities and groceries. An amount of $26k p.a. tax-free is definitely a liveable amount to live with until you complete your PhD.

3) Plus, there are always other accessible, casual jobs that PhD students can do around the faculty that pays really really well, eg. faculty tutoring. That could potentially add another $3,000 to $5,000 to the stipend.

4) Students are eligible to apply for other grants along the way to complement the base stipend.

5) If this still remains an overriding decision-making issue, then it brings the point of discussion back to the initial comment about passion.. how much of this is really about passion?

 

[Jennt]

Go to a job search site and search for Clinical Research Associate positions or Clinical Research Manager... You'll see that there is some decent money to be made in this particular area.

regards

 

[piitb]

you is not going to get high salary job