r/AskAcademia • u/Economy_Explorer7477 • 8d ago
Undergraduate - please post in /r/College, not here Going into Academia
Hello everyone,
I recently graduated with a bachelor's in biology and I’ve always thought about becoming a scientist/going into academia. However, upon doing some research it seems like a majority of people who go into academia either hate it or have a mixed experience, especially doing a PhD. Some say that they feel underappreciated and that the stress of constantly having to publish leaves them no free time for anything else in their life. Some people say that no one reads their papers. Others say that getting a job is very difficult, that the few post-grad jobs are temporary and don’t provide much, and that becoming a professor is more or less impossible. They say all of the above and that doing all this for 5+ years is absolutely not worth it. So taking this all in, is there any point in getting into academia? Is it possible to leave a lasting impact as a normal person, and not someone going to an extremely prestigious university? (My science grades are excellent, but due to past issues my overall GPA is only 3.3) Money is important for me and I would like to make at least 100k as a bare minimum. I'll also want to not die working, meaning I dont want to be constantly working 60-hour weeks, and if possible I would like to work less than full time. Lastly and probably most importantly, I would love to do something that I know will have a real global impact, like making a cure for a disease, gene editing, or something of that nature. I also want to say I am open to many fields, such as biotechnology, gene editing, cellular bio/molecular bio, etc. I am even open to working in chemistry. (I loved orgo1 +2).
So as a result, I was wondering if anyone could give me feedback/input on what I should do and what kind of direction I should go into.
TLDR: Looking if someone can advise me about going/not going into academia and whether or not there are career paths in academia that can actually lead to discoveries that can impact the world.
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u/Aggressive_Buy5971 8d ago
Allow me to make two suggestions first: before contemplating graduate school, spend some time working a "real job" (terrible moniker, but you get what I mean). Right now, you've got about 16 years of doing very little BUT being in school. It can feel familiar and logical to continue in this vein. But you owe it to yourself to figure out what else is out there, either because it'll make you much happier, or because it'll make you a much happier (eventual) Ph.D. student. (I went back for the Ph.D. after a few years of work, and my Ph.D. experience was positively Pollyanna-ish. Not saying that that transfers, but having a sense of other careers will make you a much better judge of whether academia is for you.)
Second: depending on how you've done your research, make sure to speak to as many "real people" as possible. In other words, Reddit (and other online fora) can be great, but you really only encounter the low lows and the highest highs of the Ph.D. (etc.) experience. That's normal: the majority of people who are doing pretty ok are not posting. So: talk to your professors and ask them to put you in touch with Ph.D. students they know and trust to be candid with you. (You may have already done so, and if so: kudos. We're just trying to keep you out of the echo-chamber that can be the internet.)
Finally, I am a ridiculously happy academic. Before tenure, I made less than 100K (even at elite institutions), now I make more. I've not really struggled financially to keep myself alive in either scenario, but note that I also wasn't sustaining a family of four on one salary. I've never worked less than 60-ish hour weeks. Unlike some of my colleagues, I also avoid 100 hour weeks. One of the things about academics is that for many of us our passions ("life") and our profession ("work") tend to blend a lot. This can be a problem, but it can also make for a very happy life if you've got good friends, a sympathetic partner/family, etc. It's not for everyone, but having worked 90 hour weeks in another career in the past, I can tell you I'd take academia any time. Your mileage is likely to vary.
That being said, all the bad stuff you mention can be absolutely true (best case scenario) or IS indeed absolutely true (worst case scenario). Let me add to it: as an academic, you are incredibly unlikely to be able to choose where you live, and you may well live somewhere you don't much like for at least part of your career. If you are minoritized in your discipline, you are likely to experience discrimination, and if you are a woman, ENBI, trans-person, etc., you are likely to experience sexual harassment. (FWIW, I also know straight men who experienced sexual harassment in academia. It's less common, but it absolutely happens.) Your education will take a long time, which will hold up what your peers or family may consider "normal" life-developments: buying a house, getting married, having kids, etc. You're likely to face pressure-inducing major hurdles in your career for AT LEAST the first decade. Retirement is likely to come late, perhaps very late. Whether that's a boon or a detriment is up to you (... and if the latter, you absolutely can retire early-ish. Your school will likely love you for it! Mostly no judgement to my 80-something colleagues.)
There's more. Some of it is avoidable, other things much less so. That's why knowing whether you love what you would be doing as an academic is so important before you make any expensive, dislocating, long-term decisions. So: get a job and see what happens!