Science is so fascinating to me. In the biotechnology world, it is required to have a PhD or MD to move up the corporate ladder as a people manager, or head of a company. Those that do not have it tend to hit a ceiling, like us folks with a masters or bachelors degree. 

If they want to climb the corporate ladder, those without a doctorate degree would take much longer to become a leader in the biotech sector, should they choose that path. Trust me, I’ve been in meetings where we were offered guidelines to career paths to leadership roles and it didn’t appeal to me at all.

A doctorate degree in a leadership position makes sense, of course. It is the gold medal, the “Crème de la crème”, a document that shows to the whole world you are the best in your field. Qualification is essential. Either you have it, or you don’t. Simple. 

Like a dating profile. Do you have a liver? Yes. Are you funny? No.

I have been in the biotech industry for roughly 10+ years. Prior to that in clinical, communications, education and design. So it is interesting, but not surprising, that the measure of a scientist’s knowledge is based on their level of degree. But in all honesty, I have come across scientists with PhDs who are absolutely useless, poor communicators and terrible leaders, and others that are worth a pile of gold. 

Seriously, having a Master’s degree in Biology is a great accomplishment. And it’s a lot like being a middle child. Not quite old enough to boss your siblings around (upper management) but also not completely the youngest to be pushed around and being told what to do (entry level). So where does that leave us? 

Pretty much in the middle. 

And sometimes overlooked. 

But being overlooked has its perks. Here are the reasons why we have it pretty darn good to be overlooked below the PhD level:

1. We finish grad school faster, which means we enter the industry first and make money quicker. Of course we may not make as much starting salary as a PhD entering the workforce, but at least we get a head start.
2. From my experience, a Master’s in Biology is such a broad field (for me was specifically in muscle physiology), but you can enter the workforce and adapt to any science realm that you want. There seems to be an overlap and there is no commitment. As a scientist, you want to still ignite your curiosity by branching out and explore.
3. You are the jack of all trades and have the potential to diversify your skill sets. Because you are not boxed into a single specialization, this puts you in a very unique position with many personal advantages, alongside essential critical thinking and problem-solving skills that was taught during grad school.
4. There would absolutely be no dreaded existential crisis with a PhD, who may later decide to drop out due to an epiphany to open a food truck or become a real estate agent (I have heard and have friends that did this). 

Many view Master’s degree as a stepping stone to pursue an advanced PhD or MD/DO degree and the remaining have the intention to use the degree as a motivator for career advancement, based on this PLOS study. Indeed, the degree gave me the best gift of all; a taste of what a PhD would have been like, and I probably would have not survived the program and drop out to become a food truck worker myself.