I'm planning to attain a masters degree in biotechnology....?

Question

What are the potential job opportunities and salaries in this field. Also, is it worth getting a phD.

Answer 1

So a M.S. in any type of biology is really not the way to go these days. Most people who have an M.S. got it because they didn't want to or couldn't finish a Ph.D. That being said with a M.S. salaries in the field rise significantly.

It totally depends on what you'd like to do. There are plenty of jobs in both industry and academia.

In industry you can plan on making almost twice as much as you might make in acadamia but your job security is not as good and you might get stuck doing a very monotonous boring job.

In academia (working as a tech for a P.I. prof) you can count on long hours and not a whole lot of compensation. However, the work may be more rewarding and you'll certainly learn more.

Most "biotech" programs do not offer a masters degree even if they say that they do. The reason is that in this field just about every school will pay your tuition and give you a reasonable living stipend. Schools that don't are not worth your time. But schools that do will usually only take PhD students because they figure if they are going to invest the time and money training the might as well get 5-7 years out of you.

If you are or are about to be fresh out of college I'd suggest this....
Get a job working as a tech for a professor at a university. Spend some time getting to know the field....what it's really like...what you can expect as far as money and time. Then decide if an advanced degree is really for you.

I would not suggest going directly into a PhD program directly after college....unless you have worked in a lab that is doing research as an undergrad.

It's a great field to get into but you really have to want to do it because it's no picnic.

Answer 2

I agree basically with dkstringer24, with a few exceptions related to biology not specifically biotechnology. With the exception of conservation work, primarily government (that doesn't pay well), a masters will not get a better position than a bachelor's, only a higher starting salary. I recommend going directly for the graduate degree rather than waiting and wasting time, if you get the lab experience as an undrgraduate and know it is what you want to do. Pick a university that has a Ph.D. program whether or not you go directly for the Ph.D. Some require the Master's first others accept only those wanting a Ph.D., but will allow a drop back to a Master's program for those who decide not to complete the Ph.D.. The Master's is basically an advanced technician qualification - or a manager of technicians. To design the experiments, get funding, etc. you will need a Ph.D.