About me: graduating with a BS in Biochemistry in May, 4 years of research experience, about a summer’s worth of off and on programming experience from my research lab. Undergrad was exhausting and would like a break, but realize the potential consequences in terms of mobility a break could bring.
So a few months ago I was offered a rather persuasive full time job at a large pharma company. All the good stuff: $70k starting in a relatively cheap cost of living area, moving packages, amazing benefits, in my hometown with family and friends (important to me) etc, etc. Position would most likely be quality control with a large amount of lateral movement available (even payment for further education later on). I was deadset on it.
Until today, I was just accepted into Harvard’s Computational Biology and Quantitative Genetics Masters program (SM 80 credits). This past summer I taught myself python and did some work analyzing next generation sequencing for my lab and making various programs for them. I would in no way call myself an expert in programming, but I found it very interesting and fulfilling and started looking into programs for it.
So my choice is a very nice, comfortable industry job that would eventually fund a masters (could be in any field) near my friends, family, and SO, or a masters program that could potentially reap lots of benefits as well (and put me ~$200k in debt). This is a very tough choice for me.
I would love any advice in general, but I also have a few questions if you are able to answer them:
Am I just getting excited about the name brand education, or is it really a good program? (Not sure if that fact that its through the school of public health and not some comp sci department is a con, as well as if the young age of the program is a con as well).
Is it worth it getting a Masters degree in this? Will I really be that much more employable/will really produce the marked gains in income to cover the relatively expensive price tag of the education?
What would you do?
I’d take the job. My thinking is that you could apply to master’s programs again in the future (including this one) if you aren’t happy with the work or life with the employer. But a job opportunity that ticks all those boxes might not come around again so quickly. I would not be blinded by the Harvard name. If you were qualified enough to get admitted now, you will still have those qualifications in a couple years if you change your mind.
Were you accepted into any other programs?
Are you thinking of going for a PhD anytime in the future?
QC jobs don’t seem that rare to get. You should be able to get other jobs.
Unfortunately in the sciences you really need an advanced degree (masters or PhD to advance in your career).
My vote is for grad school.
Can you ask Harvard if you can defer enrollment for a year? During this year you’ll be able to figure out if you want to stay in this job (pharma jobs are tough and may be tedious) and also put some money aside for grad school.
Earn $140,000 over two years or go into debt of $200,000 over the next two years ?
Graduate school will be much more meaningful with a couple of years of actual work experience.
$200,000 of debt is just not worth it for a Master’s. Work for a few years and see if your employer will fund one for you further down the road.
Take the job. In biotech industry, Masters level scientists don’t have a huge leg up from BS scientists. If they decide you need a MS to advance, then do it at that time, on their dime. On the other hand, PhD scientists will start much higher on the pay scale and be able to advance further up the company.
Unless you’re hoping to work in quantitative genetics asap. Then maybe the MS would open some doors.
Take the job!
One, you said that your job pays for graduate school, so you have the opportunity to get your master’s degree fully paid for in 2-3 years anyway!
Two, the job checks all the boxes of what you want. The point of going to grad school is to get a job/career that you want. Well, if you already have the job/career/offer that you want now, what’s the point? Do you think that with an SM in computational biology that you will be offered that much more than $70K a year - much less enough to repay $200K in debt?
Which brings me to three, which is that $200K in debt is waaaaaaaaaaaay too much for a master’s in computational biology. That’s med school levels of debt, but without the equivalent salaries. Even if you were to get paid $30K more in a job you got offered after the SM (unlikely, I think), you’d still struggle to repay that debt - or would have to live way below your means.
Take the job! If you are good enough to get into a computational biology program now, you will be even more attractive with two years of pharma industry experience under your belt, and then you can more accurately assess what kind of graduate degree you need to move up in the field you want to be in.
Are you nuts? Take the job! If they pay for your master’s degree, you’re that much better off! You don’t want large debts hanging over your head. That can easily sabotage a new career.
I’ll offer another perspective. I attained my Master’s degree in epidemiology, also at Harvard,. At that time, I was also offered a great gig at a pharmaceutical company with similar pay and was deciding whether or not I should continue with a ScD (PhD equivalent). In the end, I felt limited by just a Master’s degree.
The typical graduate from the Master’s program at Harvard can get an analyst or senior analyst position, but the limitations are always there. A doctoral graduate can go into academia or industry directly into an associate/scientist/manager position. For higher level positions at pharmaceutical or biotech companies, you will find very few people without a PhD or MD. In the end, I continued in the doctoral program.
Of course, there are differences between my and your situation. My doctorate was covered by the school (although my Master’s was not), and you are wondering whether you should go into the Master’s program as opposed to a doctoral program. For me, the right choice was getting all the education out of the way first.
It’s not always true that doctoral graduates can go into industry direction as a manager - in fact, I would say in most cases the opposite is true. If the job is functionally equivalent to academic research, sometimes they can start a tier higher if the trend is primarily to hire MS-level researchers (for example, some think tanks will hire PhD-holding social scientists as senior researchers/senior investigators straight out of grad school or with 1-2 years of postdocing). But as someone who left academia for industry I’d say that more often than not, this is a common misconception that doctoral students have - that their PhD education is enough to jet them to instant management.
You may have the research chops and such, but with zero corporate or management experience most corporations would balk about putting you in a management position right away. (The good news is that you can often climb the ladder faster.)
Academia is only a carrot as an alternative option if one is actually interested in the prospect.
Of course, it really depends on your career goals and trajectory.