Brakeaway Posted February 28, 2007 Report Share Posted February 28, 2007 Hello, I am a Master’s student who is deciding whether or not I should transfer into a PhD degree or take a year off and re-apply to medschool. Is there anyone out there who has gone through this that is willing to give me some sound advice. Also, will having a PhD make me some what more competitive?, And what are my career options with only a master’s (other than lab tech)? Thank You Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonesRN Posted February 28, 2007 Report Share Posted February 28, 2007 It would be tough to tell you your alternate career options at this point. Could you provide more information? What are you doing a masters degree in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jochi1543 Posted February 28, 2007 Report Share Posted February 28, 2007 Why do you need to take a year off to re-apply to med? You could still keep working on your master's... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vip_138 Posted February 28, 2007 Report Share Posted February 28, 2007 don't have any good advice, just saw the title and thought of the song "Should I Stay or Should I Go" good song Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LABMONKEY Posted March 1, 2007 Report Share Posted March 1, 2007 Although I didn't try to apply for med until I was near the end of my PhD, I was in a somewhat similar situation lastyear. Alot of it depends on you, do you enjoy research and would you be willing to follow a career in it if the Med thing falls through? If I wasn't really driven by research then I would personally find it hard to make it through. For example I routinely put in long hours in the lab (the majority of my days are >10-12 hours plus the time I spend there on weekends), I was expected to do more and know alot more than a masters student, and it looks like I am going to be up most of tonight to meet a thesis chapter deadline that my supervisor set. However I did feal that having a PhD helped make my med application stickout because you do so many other things (like publishing and conferences) and get an opportunity to develop great time management skills, but having it does not guarantee an interview. Similarly when I hit my interviews lastyear (I deferred my admission) I felt like they wanted me to justify why I wanted to switch from science to med, or what my career intentions were by having completed an MD and PhD (i.e. had I thought it through?). hope that helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brakeaway Posted March 1, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2007 TonesRN: My master’s degree is through the department of physiology and my focus is on epilepsy. Jochi1543: I actually applied in my last year of my master’s program. So I officially have to tell my committee members what my discussion is within the next few months. To give everyone a more detailed synopsis of my situation I’ll provide you with my story: I did my undergraduate degree at UofT and am currently doing my master’s degree at Uoft also. My project is interesting, progressing well (I will be publishing a paper with in a few months- first author), and I do enjoy my work and the environment. One of my biggest problems is my undergraduate studies where my marks decreased and I remained a part-time student for the rest of my undergraduate studies (from second year on). The reason for this is that my father and brother were involved in a car accident which left them hospitalized for several months. I stayed a part-time student so that I could financially support them. Going through this situation is what motivated me to pursue medicine, however because my undergraduate academic standing is not as competitive (gpa-3.0) would it be best for me to stick with the PhD in order to build upon my competitive edge (considering I already enjoy what I am doing). Additionally, I have been researching the future career paths for PhD students and the results seem fairly bleak, can someone shed some light into their experiences. To give you an example, one student in a neighbouring lab has completed two post-docs and is having a hard time finding a job. Her research focus is stem cell / cancer related studies. Thanks again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jochi1543 Posted March 1, 2007 Report Share Posted March 1, 2007 Maybe a second degree could solve the GPA problem, though this is a rather lengthy commitment. How are your Master's marks? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brakeaway Posted March 2, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 2, 2007 My masters marks average a 4.0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xylem29 Posted March 2, 2007 Report Share Posted March 2, 2007 I don't see why you can't go into biotechnology or other industry related careers. With an MSc, I believe you can teach at the college level and make some pretty good money. You could also become a lab tech (which you already mentioned), research coordinator, and anything else related to working in a lab at hospitals. I believe an MSc is also sufficient to get into sales, either in biotechnology or medical equipment - and these can become quite lucrative. With a PhD, you can do even more within industry, and I'm certain that with the good companies, once you reach a certain position, they'll even pay for you to do your MBA and you can move into high level management positions and eventually take over and become CEO - which will make you a millonaire. Within industry, it'll take about 10 years of working to get into high positions where you earn a lot - the apprx same amount of time you devote to medical school and residency and fellowships before you finally start earning a lot. The difference is that you are paying off a debt in one case. I know this sounds optimistic, but you asked for options and these are options that I know exist. But you gotta follow your interests - if medicine is something that you are really interested in and passionate about, then I don't see why you need to consider alternatives - b/c everyone really does get into medical school if they try. The ones who don't are the ones who just gave it up. If you want it that bad - you can finish your PhD and I'm sure this will make you more competitive. If it's not enough, then you can consider doing two or three years of another undergrad and make sure you do well and apply to UWO or Queens. Or you can do a SMP program in the US and get into US schools. Likewise, if your PhD is not enough in Canada, perhaps it is good enough for the US. If worse comes to worse, you can go outside of NA. Or, you can apply to DO schools too. These are all options that people who really cannot see themselves doing anything else other than medicine pursue, and they all eventually get in and become physicians. Even those who had a 2.77 undergrad GPA have gotten in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkmkhan Posted March 2, 2007 Report Share Posted March 2, 2007 a) phD will not help you unless you have several papers at the least doing an extra year or master's will not help you c) taking a year off will not help you d) doing another degree and getting A or A+ average to show your academic capabilities will help you medicine is more than doing a research-based degree to help you get in....you are a non-traditional applicant; however, there has to be a punchline to this ... seeing several students fail to get into medicine after repeated applications....i think you should seriously re-evaluate your aspirations to becoming a doctor...if you are committed, all i can say is apply and see what happens g'luck to you, hope it works out kill you're mcats...apply to schools that dont look at cumulative averages etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LABMONKEY Posted March 2, 2007 Report Share Posted March 2, 2007 Before you go and do another degree a) research which schools give you credit for having a PhD/grad degree (U of A, Ottawa, McMaster, add extra points onto your final score to decided who gets admission, and I believe U of T has an extra application set) then contact the admissions ppl at those schools and see what they say. Also your reason for having lower marks and part time status is exactly why alot of schools will take an extra letter for special considerations. Unfortunately grad marks are not used to calculate GPAs for admissions purposes, and your undergrad GPA might be a little on the low end to make the minimal cutoffs which again is why I would suggest contatcing these people sometime after offers are sent out, but well in advance of when applications are due. Only they would trly have the best black and white advice going, and depending on the time of year, might be able to make time and sit down with you and do a 1 on 1 to review you situiation. As far as the looking ahead to PhD/university positions, they are a little hard to come by right now. However most profs are set to retire in the next 5-10yrs, so you should have an easier time getting into academia if that is what is worrying you about doing a PhD (I saw an article recently saying it was one of the top 10 hottest jobs in the near future). It does sound like are interested in your research which is awesome since you wouldn't be totally lost if you didn't get into medicine, whereas a second undergrad degree carries no benefit in terms of future career opportunities. With regards to medicine and research, I do not dispute the fact that many positions do not require it. However there is a real niche for clinician scientists, and many clinical academic apointments require them to do research, publish and seek out funding, making extra graduate training can be a real asset. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Soccer Guy Posted March 5, 2007 Report Share Posted March 5, 2007 Having a PhD will not help you out a lot when it comes to medical schools. I think that the U of T will give you 1 extra point for having a PhD, but I am not exactly sure if it is U of T and if it is 1 point (but one of the schools definitely does something like this). Those who read your application will not think of you better than other applicants because you have a PhD, but if you are able to use this in your essays and interviews than it could make you a much stronger applicant. Ex. you could talk about time management, ability to deal with stress, and such experiences that you came across during your education. If you really like research, you should definitely go for your PhD. As far as jobs, you will always find a really good job out there, maybe not as a professor, but there are MANY other jobs that will be perfect for you. Many bosses will rather hire an individual with a PhD than Masters degree. Also, don't forget that many of the professions like professors, teachers, CEO's, etc are currently Baby Boomers, who have already started retiring. In next 5-10 years over 90% of the Baby Boomers will retire, which will open up all those BIG positions out there. On the other hand, if you really like medicine, than go for it. Try your best! Your best bet would be to go for another undergrad and get a really high GPA, but this doesn't mean that you will not be able to get into the med school with your current undergrad GPA. Anyways, it all depends as to what you would rather do, research or medicine. Good Luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rburgundy Posted April 2, 2007 Report Share Posted April 2, 2007 a) phD will not help you unless you have several papers at the least doing an extra year or master's will not help you c) taking a year off will not help you d) doing another degree and getting A or A+ average to show your academic capabilities will help you medicine is more than doing a research-based degree to help you get in....you are a non-traditional applicant; however, there has to be a punchline to this ... seeing several students fail to get into medicine after repeated applications....i think you should seriously re-evaluate your aspirations to becoming a doctor...if you are committed, all i can say is apply and see what happens g'luck to you, hope it works out kill you're mcats...apply to schools that dont look at cumulative averages etc Absolutely agree. If you are set on medicine, then doing a PhD is not that path you should take. Those years you spend on a PhD are much better spent on taking courses to increase your GPA. Some schools only need/look at your two best years. An increase in GPA will help your chances much more then getting a PhD can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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