When choosing your career, did you prioritize interest or salary?

[ProfuselyQuarky]

I've spoken to countless people who've started sentences with "doing that would be really cool, but I don't want to be broke". They might be indifferent with their work. Others I have met who've decided that passion trumps earning potential enjoy what they do but are often so obsessed with their work they are willing to sacrifice not only money but where they live, how they work, and most other factors that one might consider when choosing a career path. Of course, these are two extremes and most people probably find themselves in the middle category. I'm finding myself deciding which side to take and perhaps this is stressful in part because I'm not really a fan of the "let's just see where the road will take you" route and would prefer a certain degree of logical assurance that stability is in the future lol.

 

[BillTre]

When I as a budding biologist, I was deciding on what kind of biology I was interested in (after finishing undergrad school) I entirely followed what I was interested in. My interest entirely drove what field I wanted to do research in.
However,

1. there were not a lot of commercial jobs that made any real use of my zoology degree
2. there was a recession, making things worse ((for businesses)
3. and grad school in biology was basically free (if you got the support), but paid poorly.

After grad school, I probably could have gone into some kind of commercial thing, but I made enough (for my life style) and got raises.
This worked fine for quite a while, but eventually things change and one has to fined a new job.

At each transition like this, you have the opportunity to make these kind of decisions again.

If I wanted to make a lot of money, I would have tried being a MD, a vet, or dentist, but much of what that involved did not hold much appeal to me. Having sufficient funds for a reasonable existence certainly seems to be a requirement for a decent living.
I do wish I had more money.
Donations accepted.

 

[strangerep]

It need not be a binary choice, but a spectrum. E.g., if one loves physics research, but jobs seem scarce and poorly paid, then maybe commercial electrical engineering would be both interesting and better paid. Or software engineering. Skilled contractors/consultants can command ridiculous hourly rates.

It's quite feasible to continue self-studying physics while working in another more lucrative, but reasonably interesting, profession.

 

[Haborix]

It's quite feasible to continue self-studying physics while working in another more lucrative, but reasonably interesting, profession.

Completely agree with this. Basically how I ended up. Grad school taught me I hated the "industry" of academic research.

More important than making the choice between passion/earnings is to not beat yourself up over a non-optimal choice. Life is not simple and we aren't creatures that totally understand ourselves and can apply perfect reasoning for our decision-making. Got to do the best you can, recognize when things aren't working, and start looking to the next move. Good luck!

 

[russ_watters]

Quite honestly I was antsy and maybe a bit panicky about being unemployed when coming out of the Navy so I took the first reasonable job offer I got (in about 2 months in 2002). Mechanical engineering is a pretty broad field, so there were a lot of possibilities. I was hoping to build satellites for Lockheed, instead I was designing air conditioning systems for schools. Whatever, I'm good at it and 20 years later some might consider me rich.

The advice: If you're in STEM odds are you can make a lot of money in a lot of fields if you are good at what you are doing. So pick what you like at least a little and be good at it. The issue I perceive here is physics majors who want to be and are will accept nothing less than a professorship who can't achieve it and think the alternative is Starbucks. It isn't; it's working in industry and becoming richer than you could in academia is the alternative to academia. If you can stomach it.

 

[fluidistic]

The issue I perceive here is physics majors who want to be and are will accept nothing less than a professorship who can't achieve it and think the alternative is Starbucks. It isn't; it's working in industry and becoming richer than you could in academia is the alternative to academia. If you can stomach it.

Could you please elaborate on the ''if you can stomach it'' part?

 

[nuuskur]

I didn't prioritise anything at the time I started math undergrad. In my early 20s I even attached a stigma to something "purely theoretical". I knew at the time that I'm not the 9-5-behind-the-desk kind of guy. I realised that I would have more autonomy working in academia, hence that's what I strive for. The pay is not even that much lower than in industry. I hate bureaucracy and braindead work, albeit there is some in my current line of work. Nevertheless, far less so or it's someone else's problem. That works for me.

 

[russ_watters]

Could you please elaborate on the ''if you can stomach it'' part?

It follows from the prior part: some physicists have their heart set on academia and don't want to go into industry.

 

[gleem]

I do not understand why our opinions of job satisfaction and concomitant remuneration are important since every person has a unique background and needs. There is no universal Least Action path to happiness. Ultimately you will do what you want to do.

That said here is my story. I took my first job without consideration for salary which was good compared to the general population. It was an entry-level position with a great opportunity for advancement. As time went by my responsibilities and skills grew faster than my salary reflected. I came to the conclusion that I must seek different employment not because I was not making enough to live but because the amount was not reflecting my value to the institution and the amount of work that was required. I left after 18 years for a modest increase in salary but a better work environment but a less important-sounding job title. The work was the same. Over my professional career, my salary increased by a factor of eight.

The takeaway is that you can do well if you begin with a job you like develop it and evaluate your overall satisfaction with that job periodically. At some point, you may change your situation for either a better job, a better salary, or both.

 

[pinball1970]

I've spoken to countless people who've started sentences with "doing that would be really cool, but I don't want to be broke". They might be indifferent with their work. Others I have met who've decided that passion trumps earning potential enjoy what they do but are often so obsessed with their work they are willing to sacrifice not only money but where they live, how they work, and most other factors that one might consider when choosing a career path. Of course, these are two extremes and most people probably find themselves in the middle category. I'm finding myself deciding which side to take and perhaps this is stressful in part because I'm not really a fan of the "let's just see where the road will take you" route and would prefer a certain degree of logical assurance that stability is in the future lol.

You mean "What should I do with my life?" Ha ha Only joking!

Applied Biology UG led me straight to a Chemistry lab, R&D. Then industry and I am still in it. Not in the labs anymore but I miss it.
Money ok but not amazing.

Are you finishing your UG? Finished?
What opportunities do you have in your town? What industries?
Anything in line with your UG Interests?

Sounds crazy but one of the reasons my relationship failed was because I was not prepared to move to her town as there were no big companies. I put my job first.
The salary, the position, scope for promotion, commute and your domestic situation are all part of this.

 

[BillTre]

I do not understand why our opinions of job satisfaction and concomitant remuneration are important since every person has a unique background and needs. There is no universal Least Action path to happiness. Ultimately you will do what you want to do.

While what you say is undoubtedly correct about the uniqueness of each person's path, I think this kind discussion provides a variety of situations for someone to experience vicariously before they might encounter such a situation and make a mistake. There is no exact solution for everyone, but you can help them build up an internal database of thee situations for future access.
I tend to think this way for most non-simple tasks.

I majored in biochem with an emphasis in both biophysics and molecular bio but my undergrad research was on ecology and plant physio. So now I'm full-time in a lab that's doing precisely what I studied for and I've learned a few things after some soul searching: 1) I dislike health science, the model organisms used in health science, and many of the individuals I've met deep in it, 2) I am not passionate about this current lab's research at all or anything adjacent to it, 3) I truly love and miss fieldwork and plant/animal/ecological bio.

I do love biochemistry (it's painfully elegant) but I now understand it more as a tool than a field. So I could go into graduate school and focus on fish or flowers or lions and still enjoy my lab work, getting the best of both worlds. but then I'll get out of school where there is little demand for mountain lion biochemistry (or jobs that pay next to nothing) but immense demand for biophysicists studying cancer. I'm more confused than I expected to be at this stage. I'm actually so confused it's pathetic. So casual feedback both in real life and online is helpful.

Sounds like you have a lot of skills.
It also sounds like going to graduate school might work for you. It be a good way to change direction. They'd teach you new stuff and give you some support.
Your skills can be used in other fields (from graduate school). If you can find the right opportunity, this can be quite productive. Those who took molecular biology skills and applied them to archeology are probably doing pretty well now. These overlaps will continue to arise as science continues developing. This approach might be considered finding your interdisciplinary path in the world.

Just to express a viewpoint:
The term model organism has multiple meanings.

1. One is an animal that provides a convenient thing to study some specific usually human disease in and work out treatment. They have a very specific use and can be boring.
2. The other (which I like) are research animals reduces variability and higher quality observations. Some of the best examples are: mice (rats too), fruit flies, C.elegans round worms, and zebrafish.

Research programs often want to control as many aspects of the animal as possible while doing experiments (like setting up their genetic composition for an experiment) and being able to better observe whats going on in the living animal or developing embryo. Both genetics and studies of development require dependable reproduction in the lab. This has to be easy and dependable. This combination is easily achieved in C. elegans and zebrafish, but different aspects require more work in the other species.

 

[JLowe]

I've kinda tried both, and neither extreme really works. Too little money and you can't do anything, lots of money rarely comes without lots of stress. And stress is no joke. Balance has to be best. Make decent money doing something you can live with that frees you up to do the things you really want to do.

 

[gleem]

@ProfuselyQuarky, what specifically is the nature of your current job? What are you working on?

 

[ProfuselyQuarky]

Those who took molecular biology skills and applied them to archeology are probably doing pretty well now. These overlaps will continue to arise as science continues developing. This approach might be considered finding your interdisciplinary path in the world.

This is true! I suppose the anxiety stems from not knowing if that employment opportunity will arise post-education.

I think perhaps I could find a program that I don’t hate and involves further learning methods that could be easily applied in many different fields. Although upon listening to conversations from people here, health science people are kinda snobs towards other corners of biology so I don’t know how that might actually turn out, worst case scenario. Many things to consider, I appreciate.

 

[gleem]

You seem to be learning a great deal in this job and as you noted "I could apply those skills to so many other things." Remember "Chance (opportunity) favors the prepared mind" (Louis Pasteur). So you can see opportunity and you are preparing your mind.

Though salary is always a consideration at this stage assuming that you do not currently have any entangling relationships you can be flexible. It seems that you could write a novel research proposal and if submitted to the right place might be a ticket to a Ph.D. and a more rewarding future. Can you develop a plan in that direction?