Career Move Question

[Waster]

My Daughter has just finished her Honours Degree in Microbiology and is unsure whether to do a Masters Degree or go into full Employment straight away. She also did Botany and Marine Biology in Her Course, any views or advice would be welcome.

[Beady]

It sounds like she's in a field where the peons all have basic degrees, while she'd need an advanced degree for professional advancement. From experience, I'd say it's far easier to get the advanced degrees earlier in life than later.

I guess it depends on what she wants to do with her career.

[drkitten]

It sounds like she's in a field where the peons all have basic degrees, while she'd need an advanced degree for professional advancement. From experience, I'd say it's far easier to get the advanced degrees earlier in life than later.


The mandatory counter-advice .... in my experience, post-graduate students who have worked out in the field for a while tend to be better students. They've got practical experience with what things are "really" like, and they tend to be more focused on areas of realistic interest.

[Phil]

She could always take some time off, travel the country with her dog, solving crimes and drinking beer.

[blutoski]

My Daughter has just finished her Honours Degree in Microbiology and is unsure whether to do a Masters Degree or go into full Employment straight away. She also did Botany and Marine Biology in Her Course, any views or advice would be welcome.

Well, I wonder why she didn't think of this before graduating? Does she have a career in mind? A list of favourite entry-level positions, and, alternatively, ideal final positions? That's the information that should drive the decision.

Having said that, if she really doesn't know what she wants to do, then maybe a masters is a good idea: it gives her time to learn more about the field, and the delay is a good investment. She just has to use these months to do the dual task of finishing her thesis alongside some serious career investigation.

Two other things that are worth considering:


co-op masters programs that alternate education with work experience
evening and weekend masters programs (rare in the sciences, unfortunately)

[capall]

As Beady mentioned in the fields of microbiology/molecular biology you really need a advanced degree to get beyond being a tech doing the donkey work in the lab.

[Rolfe]

She may find an employer who will support her if she wants to do a Masters part-time while working. One of my junior colleagues is doing that. He enrolled for the course independently, but when he was nearing the end of his first year he applied for a job we had advertised and asked if he could do the second year of the course part-time (over two years) during his employment. We were very pleased with this idea and it's working very well indeed.

Rolfe.

[Waster]

Just want to say thanks to all for the Advice, I suppose half the problem is Microbiology covers so many different things. Since I posted, the Travel the World for a year syndrome has surfaced, either way it seems me wallet is going to take a hit. :rolleyes:

[Beady]

...either way it seems me wallet is going to take a hit. :rolleyes:

I kind of hate to tell you this, but it doesn't get any better when they leave home "for good."

[athon]

She could always take some time off, travel the country with her dog, solving crimes and drinking beer.

I actually agree with this, to a certain extent.

It depends on how she feels about more study. I know I was burned out in second year uni and failed a heap of subjects due to excess partying. I should have taken time off for myself, yet saw the competition as intense. In the end, it didn't really matter. I climbed back on the horse and got a job as a medical scientist in pathology through working my way up from a lab assistant position.

If she wants to keep studying, she should. If she feels it's time to earn some money, she should go for a job. If she wants to see the world, now is the time.

Life's too short to burn yourself out because of what people say you 'should' do.

Athon

[Crossbow]

I agree with 'Rolfe'.

If possible, I think it would be best if she found a job that provided educational benefits.

That way should could make money and work on her advanced course work at the same time.