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Advice about going to Grad School - Contents

by Jim Hu

This set of pages gives information about how careers in the Life Sciences work, my views on how to decide if going to Grad School is the right choice for you, and how to do it right if you decide to go to Grad School. I'm writing from the perspective of a tenured Associate Professor in a Biochemistry department at a large public research university. While I think what I'm writing here is accurate, it's based on my own experiences and those of people I know. This is just advice from someone further along on the career path; it shouldn't be read as a rigorous study of the sociology of Science (Such studies have been done; the rigorousness of this kind of research is always controversial).

Thus, my first piece of advice to you is to do a reality check on what you read here - ask for second opinions from people you respect at your current institution and/or check out some of the links to other sites in the web resources page.

All of these pages should be viewed as rough drafts.

Kinds of jobs for Ph.D.s in the Life Sciences

In order to plan your future sensibly, it helps to have an idea of the kinds of jobs that Ph.D. scientists have. A summary of the kinds of jobs I could think of, and a few of their distinguishing characteristics.

The Typical Career Path Leading to a Mainstream Job

How people who have faculty or industry jobs got there from where you are.

The Odds of Success/Predicting the Future

Are universities training too many Ph.D.s for the jobs available? If so, how should that affect your career choices?

Picking the Right Grad School

My take on what you should look for and what you should beware of.

Reality checks

You've decided to follow your dream by going to grad school. What if things aren't going well?

Web Resources

Trust but verify - Some suggestions for where to go to get additional opinions.

The opinions expressed on these pages are those of the author and do not represent official views of the Dept. of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M Univ., or any other organization I belong to. Please send suggestions for additions and link fixes to Jim Hu.

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This program is funded through a grant from the Life Sciences Task Force at Texas A&M. Admission to Texas A&M University and any of its sponsored programs is open to qualified individuals regardless of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, or educationally unrelated handicaps. Texas A&M University is an equal opportunity/ affirmative action employer. Last modified: January 28 2005 18:14 PM