Hi all,
I have an MSc and have just started working for a pharma company as a data analyst. However, on my first day of work i was offered a PhD at cambridge and am now in the terribly difficult position of either turning down a great opportunity or upsetting my current and possibly future employer by quiting after the first week.

A PhD may help me in my future career in pharma and thus be worth doing (plus it is a really interesting topic) or will the work experience be more worthwhile. I dont know if ill be able to get such a PhD opportunity again if the job doesnt go anywhere. The job does however also presents many interesting opportunities.

Anyone have experience of doors closing in pharma from not having a phd or is a PhD mainly useful for getting in the door.

Dear Andy,

If I were you, I would definitely go for the Phd at Cambridge. Its a reputable institution and you can bet employers will come after you afterwards. Just think and make the wise choice..

Goodluck

Dear Friend, if I were you, I would definitely not go for the PhD at Cambridge. It is a great institution but you will probably never complete your doctorate and/or go insane along the way. Trust me. Don't go down that route. You will regret.

Just one thing I would like to add, how do you know if it's a "great" PhD offer? Simply based on the university and/or funding, this is absolute nonsense. Unfortunatley you won't know if it really is a great offer until you've worked with your supervisor for a few months and have some sort of breakthrough in your doctoral studies.

In some respects I agree with both kenez14 and jouri on this. Although I dont believe in accepting a position purely on the basis of the prestigue of the uni ( the mistake I made )

I can only assume Jouri was at Cambridge and things didnt work out too well? ( hence the rather negative view) I'll have to say even though my time wasnt very successful there, I know plenty of people doing doctorates there, who have had no major problems.

Cambridge is a great university and a lovely place to live.

My advice is my all means accept the offer, if it is really what you want to do and if having a Doctorate will be of great benefit to your career prospects.

Considering that a PhD is 4 years of hard graft: if the PhD is not going to enchance year career prospects , I would steer clear

I agree with all the above.

I just wanted to add that it's very difficult to get a job in pharma at the moment (lots of outsourcing and redundancies going on), so you also needs to weigh that up (particularly if your post is permanent).

i would stick with the job.

i've been told by some people (now before everyone jumps on me for it being inaccurate) .. that the best way to climb the "industry" ladder is to just start with a msc or even a bsc. and sometimes having a phd, you still start at the same level as a person with a msc, and have to work your way up! (so i've heard -it could be wrong though, one of those "urban legends").

i would stick with the job.

phd, is very tough. and i agree with what jouri said, you only know it's great, once you're in it, but then it's usually too late!

and jouri is right, you may well go insane doing a phd, as alot of us have done so!

if i could go back, i would not have done a phd, but gone straight into industry after my Msc.

but it's really hard to know what the right decision is. at the end of the day it will be yours, and you it may be the right one, or it may not, sometimes you just gotta take a gamble and go with your gutt.

if you're REALLY passionate and dedicated and basically can say goodbye to having a life, go for the phd. if not. stick with your job.

Also be aware that industry experience is valued both in academia (for the contacts around alternative sources of funding) and in industry itself (the track record of real world work).

If I had the option, I definitely would have worked "in industry" before doing my PhD as I would have had the option to do other things.

If I were you I would go for the job. Its harder to break back into work once employers think you are overqualified. Also PhD projects are always going to be around, but with the economic changes good jobs in pharma may not be.

In general, its easier to go Good Job- PhD than PhD- Good job

You're just doing data analysis...not like actually contributing to new developments while conducting research and incorporating your own ideas, which is what a PhD will allow you do to. Not just during the project but afterwards in industry, so I can't see how the two options can compare!

I meant data analyst...when if the edit function be available in this forum?!

Well I dont actually get a say in what experiments are carried out but i am involved in the development of the analytic procedures. Thus i dont feel completely wasted. I do however see your point that this role is more a cog in the wheel rather than doing something involving independant thought.

As to the PhD I wouldnt have considered it were it not very interesting to me. My potential supervisor is also a really nice guy. What i would really like would be to see into the future to know if I would eventually reach a point in the industry where not having a PhD would result in me not being able to advance. I have a feeling this may well be the case from looking at the current people in the organisation. Also i would like to see if i could get a job after the phd! Anyone studying time travel??

Cog in the machine sorry- another case for editing posts!

You're probably right - there are limits to how far someone with a masters can get in that area of business. I have a friend who has found that with Bayer and is really frustrated (you simply can't get promoted without one) but has got used to having a decent wage and doesn't want to go back to student living. But if you're a good candidate for a PhD now, you will also be one or two years down the line plus you'd have industry experience. Does your firm even sponsor PhD work? You could have the best of both worlds - some experience, a better financial position before starting a PhD and the PhD.