Expert: Justin Shenk - 6/2/2008

Question
Greetings Justin Shenk:

My name is Jonathan and I am highly considering a career in science.  The
problem is: I'm worried about my prospects of actually being able to support
myself (not to mention, at some point, a family).  

I'm extremely passionate about all the sciences, namely, evolution (and more
specifically - evolutionary psychology), biology, genetics, etc.   My dream job
would be to research the evolutionary origins of human emotions.  

So, I guess my question is: Are there any jobs available in this field?  And
what can I do to possibly increase my chances of developing a career in
science?  Also, what are the most promising jobs in science for the
foreseeable future?

I'm by no means a genius, but I am above average intelligence.  I excel in
social skills and I love to perform, so I've thought a great deal about
becoming a professor or a teacher.   I'm willing to work extremely hard to
achieve this goal, and I love the idea of continuing to learn throughout my
life.   I just don't want to be forced to live in complete squalor for the rest of
my life after I accumulate  a substantial college debt.  

What should I do?


Thank you for your time.  


Jonathan P.

Answer
Hi Jonathan,
Science, particularly academic research, can be rewarding in a way that no other career path can be. For those who love to learn, who enjoy sharing knowledge and discovery, a career in science is somewhat of a natural extension of their innate sense of wonder.
Of course, enjoyment of work is only one consideration when choosing a career. If it wasn't a consideration at all, you would probably have gone into investment banking already. But for intelligent people like yourself, there's no reason to resign to a boring work life just yet. The question for me in my decision was a) how much do I enjoy science and b) what is the opportunity cost. Let's discuss the former first.
Do you enjoy science? Not just the study, but the process of discovery? Depending on which subdiscipline you pursue - evolutionary psychology versus genetics - you will encounter varying techniques, or tools, to acquire your data. Some people enjoy performing experiments, and others prefer to analyze data already collected. At some point in your education as you develop your scientific skills, you will likely do both.
Your enjoyment of the lifestyle of a scientist will also affect your opinion of its fit for you - some consider it "hard work" to stay at the lab till 12 hours a day, others feel that they are lucky to do what they love every day, and get paid for it! If you do what you love, you will never "work" a day in your life. But how do you discover this? Experience is the key, my friend. And getting your feet wet may work for you, but in my experience, sometimes you just have to jump in. Volunteering or working in a lab gives you the first taste - but look around and you will see that the members of a lab teams play different roles. Some have very good people skills which enable collaborations, others are very good at teaching, delegating, etc. If your concern is that you don't want to be a dish scrubbing lab technician the rest of your life, then we should discuss "Becoming Boss", a process that happens over time, after a PhD, and with lots of experience learning how to fund your research.
Now for the opportunity cost - what do you miss out on by pursuing a career in science? Clearly, the cost of education is one consideration (most good PhD progrmas in the US are fully funded with a stipend, so no debt for that!). You won't be making six figures like some of your business school friends after graduation. If you want to put yourself in the best position to choose which program you join (that really cool program in evolutionary neuroscience in Brussels, for example), you need to have publications, letters of recommendations, etc., and developing those takes lots of energy. It's clearly an issue of "you get out what you put in". (Some of the most distinguished scientists I've known would obsessively update their CV because it gave them a sense of progress; that doesn't have to be your motivation, but a little obsession never hurt anyone's job performance.)
Onto the jobs question: Yes, there are plenty of jobs in science, whether through biotech, big pharma, academic research, or in other fields. Tenure in academic research is very competitive; the freedom and security afforded by tenure accounts for the relatively low salary ($40-120k/year from lecturer - full professor, respectively, on average). I highly recommend that you go to the following websites and search for jobs that you might somewhat be interested in, and search for jobs that you are definitely interested, and compare what the requirements. You might be interested in working for a biotech company, but you'd definitely be interested in being professor of Evolutionary Psychology, for example.
Sites:
http://biospace.com (pharm and biotech)
http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/ (all)

Regarding the most promising jobs in science, clearly the elucidation of the human genome has been a boon to genetics and biomedical research. In addition, applications of nanotechnology are currently making some investors salivate, suggesting big incentives for those who pursue this field. Medical applications to research, particularly treatment strategies, often receive the most funding because of the nature of disease-specific funding agencies. But also consider that the best and brightest in science often crowd the lucrative fields, so there is greater competition. With regards to finding a good job, part of it is chance, a little luck, and a lot of ambition. C'est la vie!

Keep me updated on your progress and let me know if I can help with anything else.

References:
1. Das Kapital, by Karl Marx