Political Science

I have been planning on writing this post for quite awhile now, but I have been very busy. Now that I am all moved in, and I leave on a plane tomorrow, I have a little bit of "me" time. Sit back, relax, cliché, cliché, etc.

Something I never realized I would have to deal with is politics. Personally, I'm not a fan. Everyone with a pulse seems to have their own opinions and "expertise" and I have never been largely interested in joining them. I am extremely opinionated, don't get me wrong, but politics have never interested me, and I can't say that I completely understand them.

So, understanding this, you have to realize my surprise when I found out just how much politics has shaped science! Have you ever wondered why we do the research we do? I once thought that any research I did would be for the common good, because I really wanted to do good for the world. Despite that the work I do is good and can help a lot of people, research requires funding and to be funded, you have to do work that someone wants you to do. So say there is a corn surplus in America; farmers are, for lack of a better word, financially strapped, we have more corn than we can eat or sell, so what do we do with it? We learn how to manipulate corn into something new such as E85.

The problem is, politics seem to be invading more than our research topics. Working in a building full of scientists, I obviously know my place. I am an undergrad, a freshman even, who could be categorized as a nobody in the scientific food chain (although my coworkers appreciate me much more than that). Even now, I realize that even though I have the freedom to say and think what I want, if I do not watch what I say, I may pay for it later. My coworkers and I, along with everyone else, have experienced the way politics shape our work environment. Saying or doing something without thinking is not an option because so many people feel that they are highly entitled to something, and it isn't just my work place. I am so proud to be working in my lab, where everyone supports each other and their goals, and everyone collaborates peacefully. THIS is what teamwork and progress look like! But, if we think larger, perhaps the building, or the university, or even the world, are we all working towards the same goals? Despite the fact that we have different areas of research and that we work on different, sometimes opposing sides of research projects, are we evaluating our actions only for our own agendas, or the one that really matters?

It is time to put aside entitlement, pride, and money, and realize the truth in our work: our job is to innovate, imagine, and create a better world to live in. THAT is all. It does not matter if someone is annoying, or opinionated, or has different ideas. We need to see past it all, and work towards common goals, or the world is never going to get better. So let me ask you all, even the non-scientists, why is politics so important? Does it matter what side we're on? Why can't we just work to help each other?

To PhD or not to PhD, THAT is the question.

I had a very interesting conversation with two of my coworkers the other day. Both of them have PhD's (in different things) but they both work with me at the university. So what else would be better to discuss than the relevance of PhD's in the scientific field?

Well, I received a very unusual wake up from Reality, which inevitably shows up but still sneaks up on us. In agriculturally based sciences, in this day and age, the PhD has become almost irrelevant. No, I don't mean that you shouldn't become super focused and knowledgeable about your field; however, it might be a better choice to stick with a bachelor's or master's degree.

But, if I get a PhD, I'll make more money. No, you won't.

Here's the issue: companies are more willing to hire a person with their MS in certain fields rather than PhD's for the following reasons, to name a couple:

• MS's will do the same job for way less money. Seriously, they might work for around $60,000 a year, comfortably, but PhD's are on a completely different pay scale, often starting at $100,00.
• MS's aren't completely specialized, so a company can have a hand at training and shaping them.

Due to this unfair circumstance of fresh PhD's, you have a couple of options:

1. Get your Master's. Seriously, so you can start getting money right away (probably a good decision if you are in debt from grad school). You can always get your PhD later after saving money, getting great experience, and networking. Plus, Master's Degree credits transfer to your PhD, so it will take less time to complete.
2. Get your PhD and do post-doc work for the next 5-10 years.
3. Be like me and dream of being a genetic engineer, which would allow you to get a PhD and a high likelihood of getting hired soon after. (This field, as well as bioinformatics, are growing and in high demand of PhD's. So get ready for the big leagues!)

Unfortunately, like many other fields, there are major cutbacks being suffered all around science. You have made it so far as to decide that you have this passion, so be smart, save money, and follow your dreams. You don't have to deal with a PhD in Genetic Engineering just to make money, start with a MS in the field you like, and you can always gain pay grades later.