[gamee]

Hi everyone, I am looking for some direction and I was hoping that these forums could possible help me get my head straight because it's been tough.

I am currently a MSc student (I also have a BSc Honors in Chemistry too) who is entering the second(and last year) of my program. I am currently having dilemma with my future education that I pursue.

Basically after I finish my MSc degree next year I am looking to get another degree. My dilemma is whether or not I should pursue a PhD or another option. I find that even though I enjoy my MSc project, that being in the lab all of the time is a bit tedious and it's not something I want to do as my career. I am also not interested teaching at the academia level. I have tried to talk to my supervisor about this but he always insists that a PhD is the route to go even though I have mentioned to him that I do not want to become a prof or work in a lab doing experiments when i enter the real world and get a job. I mentioned money being one of my strong motivations, which he said I could achieve with a PhD as well. He also mentioned that working as a PhD student meant countless our in a lab and basically live eat and breathe research and basically have no life, which is something I'm uncertain of at the moment.

I have been considering some serious other options such as doing an MBA degree or even something Law related. There are other options too such as med school or pharmacy, the latter of which I doesn't really appeal to me either. I hear of people with chemistry degrees working as accountant or bankers as well, which is something I am also interested in. Does anyone know of any people that have taken alternative routes after a degree in chemistry? I would really be interested in hearing them because right now I am just trying to consider all my options.

To sum it up really I feel like I could do a PhD program, but I am not certain if it is really what I need to get the type of future job that I want. It's really been bothering me especially with my supervisor pushing the PhD program onto me on a constant basis. I enjoy chemistry, but I don't want to go into something like a PhD and regret it which would be disastrous. Right now I am just trying to consider all my options whether to continue on in Chemistry and research, or go for something else.

I hope I dont come off as being a money driven jerk, but it is something I consider strongly. I'm finding that chemistry is becoming tiring at the moment and I'm trying to save any future regrets I might have by considering my other options and am looking for people on here who have had such experiences or known other people who have.

Thanks for you time and any insight would be helpful.

[408]

Why not do both 
Take a few MBA classes or whatever while doing your phd.  Hell you could even launch a business on the side while doing a PhD.  Does anyone really notice if you vanish a few hours a day?

Money is what you get in reward for the creation of value for others.  The jerk thing makes no sense in my mind.

I will not go into specifics, but I am one year away from PhD completion, and the PhD time has been the best time of my life, not only for what I have achieved academically, but I have found there is lots of time outside work for designing whatever life you want.

[Dan]

being in the lab all of the time is a bit tedious and it's not something I want to do as my career.

I do not want to become a prof or work in a lab doing experiments when i enter the real world and get a job.

I mentioned money being one of my strong motivations, which he said I could achieve with a PhD as well.

There's three reasons why you should no do a PhD. I can't believe that you are even considering it if you have no interest in academia and find it tedious. Too many people just fall into a PhD in their MSc project lab because, in the short term, it's the easiest thing to do. Unfortunately, many of these people have a bad time in research because they are disinterested and unmotivated, leading to low creativity in problem solving and little desire to learn and develop. Don't be one of those people, it's a waste of time.

If money is one of your strong motivations, forget a PhD. You should not do a PhD if the main reason you do it is to increase your future salary. It is arguably harder to get a job if you have a PhD, and I think if you spend those years climbing the salary scale within a company instead, you will probably end up as well off.

Does anyone know of any people that have taken alternative routes after a degree in chemistry? I would really be interested in hearing them because right now I am just trying to consider all my options.

Yes, I started a PhD, but of my 4 classmates from undergrad: One went into the pharmaceutical industry, but the other 3 went into accountancy and consultancy. I don't really know how it works, because it has never interested me at all, but as I understand it these big consultancy etc. companies run graduate recruitment programs which are basically intensive training courses, and if you pass all the exams they give you a job.

I know a guy who went into scientific patents as well.

It's really been bothering me especially with my supervisor pushing the PhD program onto me on a constant basis.

You need to be careful, while I do not intend to directly accuse your boss here, consider the possibility that this is selfish advice. If I was a supervisor, I would be keen to retain masters students who I know are competent from first hand experience.

From what you've said, my honest opinion is that you should not do a PhD. I don't think you'll enjoy it, and I don't think it will aid career progression in any direction other than chemistry (and mainly academic chemistry), which sounds like an area you want to get out of.

There is no age limit for a PhD, you could always do it in a few years if you know you want to do it after trying something else.