What's the Point of a Ph.D.?

I've started to get end-of-the-academic-year emails from graduating students, realizing they can't get the job they want with a bachelor's degree. In some fields, a four-year college degree is enough to get your foot in the door and help you climb the career ladder, but in science, you may find your options limited without an advanced degree. To teach college, for example, you need a masters degree, or in many places, a doctoral degree. Management positions in laboratories are the same way, in both the public and private sector.

I don't have a masters degree, so I'm not in a position to comment on how necessary it is. I chose to go directly from a bachelor's degree to a doctorate because at the time, you had to pay tuition for the masters program, while the doctoral program paid you. So... if you're a bachelors graduate facing the harsh realities of the career ladder in science, you may want to consider going for a terminal degree. A teaching or research stipend isn't a lot of money, but it's enough to live on, plus the degree can help you land the type of job you want.

If you graduated with average or marginal grades, are you excluded from a science career? No, but you may need to do some networking and gain work experience to prove yourself. Consider volunteering or interning at a company that interests you. Working for free doesn't pay the bills, so you might need to work somewhere else and volunteer only part-time, but the investment of your time and energy will pay off in the end. You'll meet people, hear about opportunities, and improve your resume, which will help you get accepted into a graduate or professional school or find a good job.

Reasons to get a Ph.D. | Careers in Chemistry
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