Hi, I am in a dilemma right now..Is it better to do Masters degree or Phd ? I know Phd is more advanced but i've heard that the possibility of getting jobs is more higher for Students with Masters than Phd, is that true ? With a Phd the only option would be join College or University as a professor.(more likely)....With a MS degree there are many job offerings but i don't know if thats true or not..I am not at point in my life where i wanna invest an additional 5-6 years for Phd..I'll be graduating in Fall 2007, so when is the best time to apply for graduate school ? again whats better ? work for an year ? or go to Graduate school right away ? My major is Biochemistry...
Is anybody here majoring in Biochemistry, Biology or Biotechnology or similar subjects ? Please share ur experiences..I am in Nebraska and i don't wanna live in this place anymore....One of my friend is doing Masters in Biotechnology degree and Master of Business Administration Dual degree in California, i was thinking of doing the same. I heard Biotechnology degree with MBA would be a good choice for getting a Job.. If any of you have any experiece or if your friends are doing something plz share the experice so that it would be easier for all of us.

you can't do phd without masters.

I prefer Masters. Sometimes with Phd degree it's hard to find a job because you will be over qualified for most of the jobs. Biochemistry is a good major and with MBA it will be better. But it's always good to get some work experience before going a master's. It will help you to get some experience. And for MBA, leadership experience helps to understand the course material.

From your thread title, I presumed that you were about to join Ph.D. But, from your description, I have understood that you are/will be completing undergraduate. Are you jumping to Ph.D.? If not, your thread does not make much sense to me. If you are done with MS then your question is very very meaningful in this current context.

There are some universities who offer Master's and Phd courses in one course and I think it's 5 years program. So this thread is not unreasonable.

Those who thinks it would be difficult to find jobs with PHD is misinformed. Because there are lots of research oppertunities. Once you have PHD even when you start a job with similar kind of pay as masters but within few years the qualification itself will take the pay to staggering level.

Trust me. PHD will pay much much higher than masters.

u can always do PHD without doing masters...thats what i have heard...i guess doing job for a while and then joing PHD would be a good option...and yeah there are a lot of opportunities for a PHD major beside being a professor...several multinational company hire phd graduates for research....and i didnt know that employers wont take a phd graduate if the job he is offering requires a masters degree...that sounds weird to me

one thing i noted that theres not much of difference between a salary of undergraduates and graduates ,...i guess they differ by just 10K...i am not sure how far i am right though,,

Pra jee, you may be right but it does not mean that if you don't go for all five years you will lose MS and Ph.D. No matter what package, it can be broken into MS and Ph.D. depending on how many courses you took and what requirement you fulfilled.

Hence, your comment is not fully reasonable.

And no_quiero jee, can you give me some examples that Ph.D. will pay much higher than MS. It all depends on what industry you are in.

Racheeta,
You will have to apply for the schools starting in the fall of 08 if you intend to go to graduate school. This means you will start your application in the fall of 07. There are costs and benefits of both the degrees. Here is my take on this...

PHD is more research oriented and if that interests you, its better to go for it. At the end, you will have to do what you like. A boring job is not what you want even though you get decent amount in earnings. I do not think you will have to worry about jobs if you do your PHD from a decent school.
Masters is more industry-oriented and they focus on what you need to know rather than the ins and outs of any stuff you do in a class. So, definitely most businesses want you to have masters. You can also get masters on your way to PHD but then its not as effective as you could be as a separate degree.
Another important consideration is the finances. Few schools offer aid for masters while most have decent investment in PHD.

So, if you are confused about whether you want to do PHD or not, just go for work for one year after your undergraduate degree. Then apply for masters...you have a chance that your industry will sponsor for your education. Masters is mostly for people who want to work outside research area.

Dhoti ji,
Not all schools allow you to get Master degree if you quit in the middle of the PHD program. In fact, most schools don't give you masters in such cases. So, you might lose everything out there.
Get your facts right first.

Who got this thread started, by the way?
Najane Gaunko Batain Nasodhnoo!
What the heck are you trying to prove?
It is time that peopole quit bragging about their placement in either program; they sound so sleek!
They should know how to count progressively: Which comes first 5 or 10 if you count in ascending order?
That's it. It is that simple.
If one is worried about Dal bhat and dukoo, they'd better get in contact with their 'guru'.
Learn survival techniques first and dive into academia!!!

No mean intentions, though!

Your "dual degree", my fren, gets you nothing unless you are already within the work force. it is just counting 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, ...and not getting to 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 altogether.

I hope you don't take me for mean still.

go to CONGO

A PHD candidate can apply for master's position but a masters cant apply for job that requires PHD position. Even if you have done PHD, masters or just an undergrad. 90% of time you enter the industry in a low position. But just the PHD degree will take the candidate to much more higher and better paid position.


How many master's are there compared to PHD? Very very few. That itslef puts a person with PHD to a different league.

May be some maters have got very good job. But many works in a small company and some are unemployed. It is very rare to see a doctor not to get a well paid job for long. Plus being called doctor itself is a matter of pride.

Sorry for the confusion over here.....I will be done with Undergraduate in Fall 07. But it is true that i can enroll in direct pHd Program which is 5 years and i don't have to do Masters.....But I've heard that if you enroll in pHD program and u want to quit in the middle, that creates a problem and not all the school give u any certificate....And one another thing..." I dont' wanna spend all my life working everytime doing research and all that ." That's no fun at ALL....I've got a life and i aint wasting it like that....Ramailo pani garnu paryo ni kahile kahi.....Everyday research, lab, bacteria....ufff ma tyo garne wala chaina....so i'll just do Masters and get a decent job, and i am done...THanks for all your info.
Racheeta.

whats a decent job for u? u r acting as if someone is gonna pray you to do research for his company...pose herata baba...

Well u can get a job in pharmaceutical company or other many companies with Master in Biotechnology......Just get at least an year Experience in related field after Undergraduate and you'll be all set for Masters....Also most companies will pay for ur tuition for your Masters and later you'll have to join the company again. I've seen many people like that...
Just for the Reference, Check this out :
http://www.huck.psu.edu/MS/MSBstutestim.html

Doing PhD is good. But getting job under F1 visa, I think it would be a little bit difficult for PhDs. If you approach for teaching in any universities, it is fine and most of the international students who do PhD and still in F1 do the same. But if you are thinking of working in some organization, I do not think that it is easy for you to get job coz the question of your visa status will arise after your F1 expires.

I do not mean that you should not apply for other organization besides universities, you should better do Masters and work for some period and wait for opportunity to come and grab to do PhD.

You ar etalking about Masters leading to PHD. Whether you should stop your study after MAsters or continue till PHD?? Well that's depend upon your interest rather than others advice. In USA, people go for PHD for two reasons- Becasue they are keenly interested to Hold Doctorate, OR save the status after Masters if they do not get the job. Regarding money making - you might make money in other filed than doing Masters and PHD. Getting job w/ PHD may not be abundant but it is not scarce too. And the begingng salary of the PHDs could be higher than experienced MSs. It all depends upon your interest on Study and your ambition.