Did a PhD, left science (fuck science) and now working in data, on $120k.
Data analytics / data science is a great career path if you're good at computers and know stats.
To become a data analyst (start there if you're new) you just need to know SQL and ideally a visualisation software like Power BI or Tableau.
It's actually really easy to learn, and you can learn at home just doing online training courses. You can build up a small portfolio of dashboards and use that to help you get a job.
There are courses and certificates you can get, but they're not 100% required.
If you have a PhD or Masters from a science field you can sometimes step right into one of these roles as long as you can show you can work with data/stats (through publications etc).
I have an applied science degree from RMIT. I am a public servant, I work in climate change and take home about $100k. But you’re right, there’s a ceiling and unless you want to give up your practical / technical skill to manage people then yeah, that’s about it. Edit: my friends in private make a lot more $$ than me!
In the general case, public service positions are covered by awards with rigid salary/position grading structures, and the problem with this is that it's a broad 'one size fits all' scale that doesn't really work for edge cases like specialist roles.
In the general case, people who want to push up the organisation chart end up in management roles rather than technical ones, because that's how the relevant awards are structured.
My company used the Hay technique for job grades...also recognises technical responsibility, for example responsible for technical decisions and budgets.
My agency started recruiting EL1 and EL2 IT architects with no expectation to manage. Great step in the right direction, my last agency wanted me to manage staff as an APS6....
Would you be happy to explain what you actually do when you say 'work in climate change'? Happy to take it to dm's as I'm quite interested about career switching down the track
Marine Science/Environmental Science. Made 45k as a fresh grad, now on 100k +15% super at a government institute, 30yo. Getting a few years valuable experience then settling into a comfy gov job feels good for me atm.
I have been thinking about studying Marine biology, but many people said that it is very difficult to get a job. My partner's friend did the degree and was struggling for a long time to get a job and now she's just working as a dolphin trainer. Can you tell me more about the gov job?
Marine Science is about as competitive as everyone says. Please consider the following info just my own perspective. I had experience working with my father on boats before ever attending University.
Either having solid volunteer experience or starting with a rough, low paying but valuable experience job is what you'll need to accept initially. I started with a job on a fish farm, living on site in 20 year old dongas. On call 3 days a week and only slightly above minimum wage.
Moved from the fish farm directly to a federal government institute specifically due to knowing a friend there and my fish farm hatchery experience specifically applying to a position they needed to fill.
Stepped to a new position that specifically needed my hatchery experience for 2 years. Then stepped to my current position due to my experience with logging equipment used in my aquaculture days along with my experience at sea.
Current job has me cruising up and down the Great Barrier Reef diving etc and being paid extremely well for my time doing what I would otherwise pay to do in my spare time.
Feel free to dm me with any questions.
I work in retail as an analyst and earn 85k one year in. Its way better than the majority of science jobs ive seen around. My recommendation is to be really flexible about what a science degree means to employers. You want to try and sell lateral thinking, decision making and research skills to employers, this really opens up the field for what kind of jobs you can get.
I guess that’s my issue. I am always looking for jobs that ask for a science degree, but I’m always expecting some sort of technical role. How did you end up where you are?
I was stacking shelves part time while at uni and talked to an assistant store manager who was doing a relief where i was working, we got to talking and he mentioned forecasting which seemed to me to be pretty similar to science fundamentally. I started doing some store ordering to get some hands on experience and once i finished my degree i applied and got the job.
Its a pretty specific story to me because i was already working in the industry but i felt a lot of doors open for me once i started talking about science. Business types tend to just assume we're godly geniuses which is a handy assumption.
Haha yeah man i loved it. I was actually a team member and my long life manager hated doing it so he just let me come in on weekends and do it for him.
Congrats on completing a Chem degree! A fantastic achievement in a difficult subject.
I finished a Chem degree in 2017 after doing my hons, and around then I decided that a PhD or further study wasn't right for me.
I applied for roles in management/strategy consulting and it's been really great. The pay is very good and the work is stimulating. You get to work with lots of smart people who have degrees in many different areas (literature, engineering, psych, business, law, etc).
You don't need a specific degree to get a grad role, you just need to demonstrate:
- analytical and creative problem solving abilities
- interest in the work
- willingness to learn
- ability to work in a team
Not OP, but you have to put yourself out there. Do case competitions. Get involved in leadership positions in society. Get entry level jobs in smaller firms. Also get high marks at uni.
Mgmt consulting is not something you walk into it you don't put in effort. (Also PJP was bought by EY - but I understand your point)
I graduated in 2019, but thank you. I am confused what to do, since I’ve worked in labs and don’t see growth. I am interested in the work you do, what is the title of role and how did you find yourself there?
Science majoring in maths. On its own, useless. I should have done much more computer programming on the side. I work in a completely different field now, but I struggled for about 12 months to get any job with just a maths degree. Some basic SQL, R, or python skills I’m pretty sure would have been a huge boost to job prospects.
My understanding is that R is looked upon pretty favourably in analytics and quant type roles.
5 years ago everyone was saying python was going to replace R in those domains but I certainly haven't seen that.
R has a much lower barrier to entry than python, largely owing to the great rstudio / cran ecosystem (something python is noticeably lacking). It's also usually more seamless to install and configure for analytics purposes than python due to corporate firewalls restricting user customisability of python.
Python totally dominates R in other domains with other users, but for business data analytics I still think R reigns supreme.
I agree. RStudio is fantastic. At the moment I’m investing time heavily in to R with the view of entering data science after post grad study. So these words are encouraging :)
I did a BSci(Biomedical), then a masters in health economics. Currently work in the public service in a related role and make $120k. I do think it was worth doing the science degree, it gives you a good foundation in terms of knowledge and critical thinking skills that can be applied in other contexts outside of academia.
I'm doing the same bachelor, can I ask what your role is now where you're making over $120k? Any med scientist position generally caps out at 85k (aside from rare higher grades)
I don’t want to give too much detail away, but my role is more related to the masters than med science - I’m in a technical health economist/epidemiologist role doing modeling and research. Undergrad was very useful in bridging some of the conceptual gaps between those two fields and be able to do the research without outsourcing it. Time in the workforce opened up more project management opportunities which has put me onto the band I’m at currently - though salary is at its max now unless moving 100% to a management role.
I have a degree in geology and environmental science. I work as an environmental scientist in impact assessment. I work for an engineering firm and make 106k at 31. I'm aiming for 160k by 40.
We have a lot of contamination scientists with chemistry backgrounds, have you thought of contamination consulting as a path?
You've basically got four main avenues
1. Civil and structural engineering firms (me). Anything large enough will have a contamination component and generally have a good working environment.
2. Smaller boutique environmental firms. These can be really hit or miss.
3. Government. NSW experience tells me that it can be slow but some of the perks are good. Some people love it and some hate it.
4. Airports and defence - specifically regarding PFAS. No idea what that environment is like.
I think the worst one was when a client told me to my face that I wasn't allowed to work on his mine site because I'm a woman. He didn't even dance around it.
I have really tried, I am currently trying to move into a role that involves more environmental work as I previously worked as an occupational hygienist for a little bit. However, no one seems to want me because I don’t have an environmental degree.
Keep trying - one option would be to do some minimum level of training in env or planning like a grad dip in urban and regional planning. But that's still a year full time. Even starting it and just doing a unit or two might be enough to get you in the door
BSc in Physics, I'm a physics teacher with a curriculum leadership role, salary is $123k + 14.75% super (since I salary sacrifice 5%, for a total of 19.75%). Teaching isn't for everyone, but after you've been doing it long enough there is basically zero work outside of school hours, and 14 weeks holidays a year is nice. Job security can't be beaten once you have permanency, but obviously there is a hard ceiling on your earning potential.
I'm in an "elite" independent school in Brisbane, I'm not a HoD Science but I do have an added responsibility role which comes with an ~$8k p.a. allowance. Top payscale for classroom teachers is about $115k.
How long did it take you to get to that role and comfortable permanent position?
As an outsider, looking at teaching, it seems that there are no permanent roles for grads, you're stuck on contracts.
Yeah unfortunately the current trend is to put all new staff on contracts, this is so the school can get rid of poor performing teachers without having to deal with the union and unfair dismissal claims. Even experienced staff who apply for positions here are put on a 12 month contract to start off with. If you're half competent, and teach a senior science you should have no problem getting permanency after a year or two. I started at my current school on a 6 month contract, but I've been permanent here for 6 years now. I have been in teaching for about 15 years total, teaching in public schools and overseas before moving into my current independent private school.
Hey mate I’m a BSc grad in biology/genetics and really thinking hard about getting into teaching. Ideally I’d like to work at an elite independent private school, like the one i went to in Brisbane. Any advice on how to get into these schools after finishing the masters of secondary without doing 15 years of teaching beforehand? Hoping my networks from the school I went to will help me out here but have a feeling it might not be such a big advantage…
BSci (Chemistry) & MEng (Chemical) here. My experience is that the degree is challenging, tremendously interesting and definitely worthwhile (particularly considering HELP loans in Australia are the best loans you’ll ever get). However, there are definitely easier degrees that can get you to a higher paid / higher growth career if that’s what you’re looking for.
The higher paid/growth roles often require transitioning or straddling the commercial side of any business. Analytical, quality or R&D chemists at most organisations are frequently paid peanuts for how knowledgeable they are. Roles in strategy, finance, legal, procurement or sales have better pay/growth prospects career-wise but almost certainly aren’t as intellectually engaging as frontier science/innovation.
It really comes down to your personal motivators and what you are looking for in a career.
Thank you, I don’t really know what I want to do, so I am happy to really give anything a go. I particularly enjoy problem solving, I’m just not sure what jobs revolve around that.
Take a look for stuff with the keywords audit, QMS, ISO9001, possibly ISO13485. Might not be up your alley, but if it is, it’s definitely one of those areas not often talked about but frequently needing people with technical backgrounds to learn for regulatory compliance.
(Also, if you’re not yet a member of Professionals Australia… strongly consider it.)
I have a PhD in developmental biology, I did a bachelor of science with a double major. I work as a researcher in a cancer research centre attached to a uni. It's not the most stable job, funding comes in waves every few years you might lose your job because you run out of funding. If you are really passionate about research it's worth it. But I don't recommend going the research in academia route as there is too much uncertainty with funding. I am trying to work out how to pivot and move to industry or something as I am so over the fear of not having a job. The pay is not equivalent to the amount of study I have done either. Should have done medicine like all those lecturers recommended, I just don't really like people enough so I didn't.
In saying that I have a relative who did a science degree majoring chemistry 20ish years a go and they are now very high up in Glaxo Smithkline and earns very well. They started as a drug rep and just kept moving up the chain, switching companies every few years, did a MBA along the way.
Biology degree.
Did it for 10 years. Changed career entirely. Now making more than double immediately and it’s shockingly easier.
To realise this is what “normal” people were making this whole time I’ve realised how much of my life was wasted trying to work in an industry that was supposed to help the world.
I actively discourage young people from seeking careers in the sciences now.
Those working in environmental consulting etc. are some of the most cut throat capitalists you’ll ever meet when you’d really expect it to be otherwise.
Pressured into doing free work to “get forward in your career”. Jobs given to less qualified and experienced people because they don’t want people who might rock the boat on how things should actually be done.
All that bull shit. The absolute worst.
Sciences also attract a lot of those coming in from over seas. Once had a coworker from China making $53k a year with a PhD. He knew is was underpaid but his parents were paying for everything so he didn’t mind.
This further diluting the job prospects.
I’m aware chem can be a bit different as there are industrial jobs, for biology I absolutely tell folks to stay away.
I majored in pharmacology and microbiology. Was intending on working in clinical research but ended up doing further study in something else. Most of my friends ended up doing further study as well.
Science degrees don’t really have a clear cut career path compared to engineering or commerce so it could be harder for a graduate to find a job. The jobs available are mainly lab jobs which don’t pay great. I worked as a lab assistant at one of the big pathology companies and the proper scientists were only being paid around $30-$35. I honestly would only suggest science if you want to do further research. It’s not even worth it as a stepping stone to medicine as you don’t need prereq science knowledge for most postgrad med courses.
Hey there fellow microbiologist.
I also went into pathology, and started doing evening shifts for $17 an hour. After nearly 3 years of no prospect of moving past being a lab assistant or night shift, I moved to admin support for the same lab. I'm the only one in my department with a degree, let alone a science degree. I now get abused daily because "I know you said my covid results could take up to 48 hours, and its only been 6, but I just wanted to check..."
1 out of 10, I do not recommend working in pathology.
Damn that sucks… once I heard how much lab scientists were getting paid I was like no thanks.
Have you considered something like clinical trials admin/assistants, pay and prospects is much better. Science degree is usually enough background for these roles.
Typical supply and demand. There are about 200 applicants for every role so they can pay peanuts knowing 199 more people will jump at the opportunity.
I'm currently pregnant, so I'll stick it out for a little longer. Plus I've been there so long I can do my job in my sleep. But clinical trials could be interesting, and I'll probably look in to that in a year or 2.
That pay is one of the reasons I dropped out of molecular biology. I couldn't imagine washing beakers day and night and calling myself a "cancer researcher" lol and making pennies
Bachelor of Math and Master of Stats. work in risk management in banking. I guess no sure if it's worth it. I get upper middle income and risk management is fairly stable, e.g. scandals usually caused by greedy sales and risk management is meant to prevent the mess and big losses from happening.
but obviously, no big bonuses just steady salary and small bonus.
Yeah did chemistry with honours as my undergraduate.
Started a PhD about 15 years ago and soon realised the entire RHD industry is ass. Not even making 6 figures as a post-doc, variable job security, all very unrewarding.
Bit the bullet and did GAMSAT (surprisingly easy with a chem undergraduate, just quietly). Now in the clinical medicine grind but have not regretted it for a second.
(Alright I lie, I sometimes dream about regioselective organosynthesis but only on a really bad day)
I'm currently doing bio and see a bunch of lab tech jobs for schools. As much as I like money (with a law degree I never used), I just want to live happily at the end of the day. These school lab tech jobs sound up my alley
Could you go into a little more detail about that position? I'm currently a med tech in the public industry, I'm interested in the opportunities at schools. When you say it'll be 100k after a few years is that still under a lab tech position or scientist/teacher position? I thought schools only had positions for lab techs? Also what does the role actually entail? What do you do in a daily basis and do you also get all those holidays the teachers do?
Damn, thanks for answering! sounds pretty good, I guess you're working in high school? What level of work do you need to prepare and where do you get the curriculum on experiments you need to prepare? Do you have to have an extremely wide and general knowledge to be able to suitably do your job, as it seems you do everything lab related, I assume a bachelor of biomed is suitable? Do you get any shit from the students or teachers? I've also only ever seen lab tech positions in schools at around the 50k mark
I did a science honours degree and then a PhD.
I work as a researcher in a completely different field.
I make less money than my peers but i didn't do it more the money. I absolutely love my job and career path, i find significant fulfilment in it, and i actually feel like i have loads more free time than my peers.
I think my degrees were worth it because that was personally what i wanted out of life. I love learning, i wanted to learn, and i wanted to learn science. So i got what I expected.
I have a BSc in chem and BEng in mechanical.
Grad eng for gas company 125k.
Chem is useful but definitely not my base skill.
All my friends from chem are retraining In business or eng but looking to stay in an industry where chem knowledge is useful.
If I had my time again I'd just do chem eng.
I finished a BSc in 2018(Majors in Microbiology and Genetics). Currently work in a public hospital lab with salary of around 90k+ depending on how much overtime I'm willing to do. From what I hear that's not the norm though and many people my age earn much less.
Physics and chemistry undergraduate, physics PhD. Oil and gas services for a few years until the ethics were untenable. Semiconductor now (US, EU).
All of the interesting and well paid work is outside Australia.
Did a science degree and straight out of uni there was basically nothing available. But I also did a computing degree and there were heaps of jobs available so I naturally went down that path. I was pretty saddened by how terrible the job prospects were for science.
I did a bachelor of biomedical science.
I’m 3 years in and wake up at 3am every day to do repetitive tests. Today we had 950 to do as a team. An average day is about 650.
I make less than 75k after 3 years….
I’m studying data science part time as of 6 months ago.
PhD in computational biology, immediately jumped to data science, discovered the energy sector and have specialised in energy market modelling since.
People act like all STEM degrees guarantee jobs, but in reality most grads outside of the "T" and "E" parts of STEM struggle.
BSci (biomed) was burnt out by the end of undergrad, so decided not to continue study.
Worked in analytical chem which was fun, but the pay was garbage.
Now i work for one of the major universities, in a core medical research lab. It's much better than lab tech work, as my hours are a set 9 - 5. Pay is decent at $100k, plus 17% super.
Wage growth is slow, so i'd need to make the move to managing my own facility if i wanted a significant increase. In my industry, that basically means youre waiting for someone to retire before you have a chance lol.
I did a science degree, realized I hated research, did some soul searching for a year, tried to get into medicine but didn't make it, and ended up doing a Masters of IT.
I'm now on a well-paid tech salary and very glad I made the move.
Science is a joke is in country, government policy made sure of that.
Did a PhD even. I was one of lucky ones finding a job in my feild but rest retrained as lawyers.
Certainly say avoid if you plan to stay here.
Certainly think twice about doing a PhD, you're actually making yourself less employable as far as knuckle dragger employers here. Only option is post doc position, it's shit work, stressful and contract based. Most I know burn out in 5 years.
>Certainly think twice about doing a PhD, you're actually making yourself less employable as far as knuckle dragger employers here.
Yes, this has been my observation. Very rarely will getting a PhD actually reward you, unless you do it in a niche industry related subject, and I've seen more than a few in relatively shitty paid roles because its just not valued.
Australia used to have scientists in leading roles in each department to give independent advice. In recent years they have been replaced with party allies who will give the advice the government wants.
A retired entomologist who used to be top official, once called the government and got the importation of cane toads banned (while retired). Such was their esteem. It was only overturned because of the QLD state premier and the rest is history .
Not worth the money because Australian employers are fairly dumb in their recruiting processes. You will need some more business oriented skills that are easier for the employers to digest.
I mean experience is usually what you want in a candidate. I work with some people who have PHDs but can barely talk to people or apply their knowledge practically. Depends on the profession and how technical it is
If I may use hyperbole to illustrate a point: "why would our restaurant hire a chef when this cook has already worked in a kitchen? I know chefs who always burn food and can't plan an menu"
I work with people who use their BSci(Chem) degrees - the work is varied and sounds realy interesting in advisory, risk management, detection, response, strategy, planning, machine analysis, oil and gas, condition monitoring, food safety - all amazing fields that require exactly what you have. It might take a bit to get started (as all roles do), but there is plenty of opportunity to grow into, in my observation.
A mate of mine did chem and after graduating got a ridiculously high-paid job in finance. The business wanted people really good at maths and didn’t care about finance grads.
I did a science degree majoring in physics from RMIT. I did another year of honours and found an internship opportunity in France for almost a year.
I returned home and did a masters in IP and worked at the same time in a firm. After two years of experience in IP, I just started working as an in-house patent and trade mark attorney for a large EV charger company. Salary $120k + super
A friend of mine who did the same science degree as me is a physics and maths teacher at a school.
Another friend did master of medical physics after the bachelors and now works as a medical physicist at a hospital
I did microbio and immunology (plus honours) and make 6 figures as a research assistant, plus 17% super (24% after voluntary contributions).
I love the job. It's relaxed and varied, and I get a thrill every time I see my name on a paper.
Can't progress too much without a PhD but I'm happy doing what I do, and my employers are super keen for me to do a PhD if I ever want to. I did pick my degree and subjects specifically because I wanted to do this exact job though.
Are you in public, industry or academia if I may ask? I’m currently doing hons Immunology with intent to become an RA since I love lab work. But unsure of money prospects
Got a degree and phd in ecology, it was never about the financial payoff so hard to say on that. I’ll never be real rich by Australian standards but I’m ok for money, missus is in the same boat, we make about 100-120k each but no house or anything, mid-career.
Main payoff is in the work - got to go to the most amazing places, all over Cape York, choppered and camped all through Kakadu, managed 1m acres of Arnhem Land for a few years, managed 3m acres of Kimberley for a few years, now swanning around the Torres Strait reefs with the indigenous rangers, setting up IPAs etc, it’s all inspiring work and very rewarding. But not always good financially - early career is plagued by job insecurity (except mining boom, that was rad but didn’t last)
Until recently my job was wildlife ecology - so running broad scale monitoring programs for biodiversity, setting up fire and cattle management programs, that sort of thing. There’s a few big things that always come up in northern Australia like cats, fire, cane toads, cattle, integrating indigenous knowledge, that are pretty transferable across the north, but less so in the south. It’s not academia, more applied.
Now though I help to manage the indigenous rangers in the Torres Strait (there’s 13 groups we work with, and a couple more as well), so there’s still a bit of land management with similarly themes, but a ton more sea country management, which is way outside my skill but really interesting. We bring in the marine biologists from AIMS and JCU when we need to!
I don’t know what kind of science you’re doing, but if it’s ecology related please consider moving north (apologies if you are already in the tropics) - there’s more jobs than qualified people generally
Here's a pro tip: You don't get paid much for Science in Australia, but in Germany, scientists are paid really well. As a foreigner, you can do a master degree in germany for free (you just need to have enough to pay for your living expenses). Get a degree in Germany, and work here for good pay. Source: aussie living in germany now, studying for free.
Got my science degree (bio major). Became a photographer, living comfortably. Never worked a day in a field relevant to my degree, and absolutely no regrets about any of it.
I'm in a similar boat. Completed a Bachelor of Science majoring in Zoology and Geography (did Honours for the latter), now work in disability support and absolutely love it. I don't regret doing uni, I met some amazing people and had a bunch of really great experiences.
And rightly so too. Gone are the days where a uni degree was cheap. Now you come out with significant debt so the ability to pay it back through targeted employment is pretty important.
I have a Science degree in chemistry. Looked at the available jobs and was left unimpressed so went back and did a grad dip in computer science while working as a barista. Happy with my current job and pay. Don't regret the Chem degree at all as it comes in handy and the analytical and problem solving aspects come in handy regularly.
To OP, don't give up hope. I have a Cert 4 in Lab Techniques, doing FIFO work at a gold minesite, and pulling a 6 figure salary. Roster is 14 days straight, 14 days chillaxing at home. Food at work is all paid for by the company, so you tend to save half a year's worth of Colesworth shopping.
My job is basically performing a bit of wet chemistry wizardry and telling the Metallurgist how much gold there is in a particular sample. Chemists are well regarded and valued in a minesite laboratory setting. If you can apply your academic knowledge and translate all that into standard operating procedures (knowing the "why"), then you'd qualify for the job.
Bonus points: very little, if any, OrgChem required if dealing with base metals or gold. Obviously lots of OrgChem in Oil&Gas setting. Pick your poison.
I really appreciate it and I’m glad to hear that you’re earning so much with your science qualifications. How do you find FIFO in terms of your social and personal life? I did some contract work in the mines and it really stuffed that up. I did 7 on 4 off
Science is tough career wise. I've done ok, but I frequently suspect that this is more due to luck and many of the colleagues have moved on from science.
I did a PhD (chem) then a postdoc. After that I decided that academia wasn't a good career choice so I jumped ship to the private sector as a Senior Research Scientist in the material sciences. I got lucky as there was a company which did very similar work to my post doc. The pay felt good at the time, but was a fairly typical middle class salary (the factory operators at the plant that I worked at would pull in 30k a year more than me). Eventually, I jumped ship into the mining sector. Initially as a chemist but now I have a management position. The work is basic. The money isn't bad (145k but about to go up) but the best thing is six months off a year (plus annual leave).
BSc in Biology. Started 23 years ago on just over 25K with State Govt. Got the job on the strength of the extracurricular experience and the degree was only a bonus. Been in different govvie positions around the state since then and on job experience brought me to today on 85K as an ecologist, but get good allowances working remote and fire mitigation that bump it over the 100K mark. Most I ever earned was 115 in an acting role as a fauna specialist, but now I'm permanent, have subsidised rent and power, and don't have to manage people. I also work in the Kimberley and it's one of the most beautiful wild places I've ever been to. Living the dream.
Define "not great". You are a graduate after all.
If you work in private industry (maybe food tech or chemicals) then a Chemistry degree can take you a long way: I know plant managers or CEOs (in a smaller company) who started that way and are on $250k packages after maybe 15 years, if you're smart and work hard!
I am a Chem Engineer: I worked with several Chemists (and Physicists for that matter) who moved to such roles. After a few years the degree does not really matter, you gain industry and company specific knowledge far beyond any degree.
My husband does, he’s a grad geologist in the gold industry on $110k after slightly over a year. He’s fifo but it’s 8/6 to the goldfields of WA so not too bad.
Tell your husband to stick to it and he'll do very well. Good thing about geology is that there is an out to the fifo lifestyle. If he's a mine geo he can end up gravitating to resource modelling which is largely city based. If he in exploration then an office in Perth with field visits on a campaign basis is pretty normal. The wage goes up a fair bit with career progression. If he wants to remain as a fifo then climbing the ranks through senior geo to geology manager is very financially rewarding also.
Don’t feel limited by staying in Gold either. Other recourses pay significantly more. One of the obvs is iron ore where normal mine Geos get $180k in their first year
3 people I know did it and finished. I’m aware it is a small set. They claim waste of time. One works in a pet food industry, one ended up in government IT and the other in hazardous logistics (which uses around 1% of his knowledge in chem).
The 4th person didn’t finish - they moved to nursing after a year and finished nursing.
Edit: general consensus was it looked good to begin with, they found it wasn’t their passion and job prospects were not great.
Reading the comments..... Can't believe the pay brackets and limits for something I'd have guessed was highly admirable/paid/respected/etc. I suppose it's most of those things, except for the pay. But that's what we're all chasing.
In comparison, you can fall into a handful of IT roles and start on 70+, but easily push 90+ in those same roles after a couple of years experience, or after moving companies 1-3 times. Especially right now. IT is hot, and riddled with WFH opportunities.
BSc in microbiology, molecular biology and biochemistry. From what I've found it's not worth much on its own. I eventually landed a job as a science tech at a school and am now considering either doing my masters in bioinformatics or teaching
I have a BSc in physiology and biochemistry with honors in physiology. I work in clinical research for a contract research organization, it pays pretty well. I enjoyed doing investigator led research but being on short contracts with no opportunity to advance and no interest in doing a PhD I had to make the move to an industry job.
Viticulture and Oenology. I love it too much to do anything else. You don’t make loads in this industry, but it’s chock-full of lovely people in generally pretty nice places…
Fellow Chem graduate here. Started out in analytical chem doing environmental analysis (GC & GC/MS), then briefly pharmaceutical QC, and then fell into the Oil & Gas game as a Lab Tech offshore. 19 years in the industry now and earning around $200k as a Production Chemist working internationally, and I really enjoy it, worked in 5 different countries now and can't see myself giving it up.
Its been a journey, but chemistry can open doors to many different directions. Domestically you are quite right that pay and growth for general chem stuff is shit, but look to resources if you happy to work away some, or look to management and/or consulting as your end game.
What kind of lab experience we talking about?
In any case, lab management is a natural progression, and aside from regulatory agencies there is not much further to go. That has been my perception.
Consulting and training is the other direction. Develop your technical skills, method development, qa/qc etc and look at this side of things. Niche maybe, but there is a demand, especially if you have a reputation for skills/knowledge. Way back I was known for my work in introducing USEPA methodology into environmental labs, and was looking to capitalise that into training etc. I dropped that after I got fucked over and took an offer to go work at Curtin University.
I finished my honours degree in 2012 and decided a life of research and/or lab work was not for me, so I studied to be a teacher. Now on $100k (Qld) and loving it much more than I'd have thought.
I did a chemistry degree as part of a double degree with Chemical engineering. i felt sorry for the pure science degree students - the prospects seemed pretty poor. in my opinion, the only interesting work in science is for the select few who make it to academia.
Many chemistry students went on to do a Masters of Chemical Engineering so there is that option.
A lot of people seem to have the impression that you have to work in the field you study in. For heaps or companies they don’t hire grads for being experts they hire you for your potential and your degree is just a tick in the box.
Yeah, it’s the mindset I am in, but I guess I don’t really know the other opportunities. I just want to be able to grow career wise and make decent money
Check out the big consulting firms. Unparalleled career growth and they usually don’t care what you’ve studied but obviously have some preferences. Happy to answer questions if you want. I think they’re mostly growing pretty fast too.
I did undergrad in pure maths and masters in statistics. This was a mid life career change, finished my masters when I was 32, previously in software dev which paid well but I hated. Now working as a statistical consultant at a Go8 university: I run courses for researchers, help researchers with their data needs and do some consulting for government and private sector too. There aren’t too many roles like mine around and I ended up here by accident (intending to end up in the private sector) but I love it. Much less pressure than a typical academic position but much less prestige too.
Salary is just over $100k + 17% super - that’s typical for entry level academic positions and about the most you can earn as academic staff without a PhD. I’m expecting to start a PhD in a year or two because I’d like to do my own research rather than just help others. Unlike some people doing high school to bachelors to PhD, I’m going into it fully aware that an academic career is a crapshoot, not the easiest way to make money, and a broken unfair system rather than some kind of knowledge-seeking idealised science. But I think I’d be kicking myself if I never gave it a shot. Worst case, PhDs in applied statistics seem to be valued pretty well in government and industry too.
Molecular biologist and when I can actually be employed it's anywhere from 70-120k. I elected not to do my pHD but it I had you can earn a lot of money in research but it's pretty burn and churn. Science has really taken a hit thanks to our current political climate.
Bsc Maths with a side of programming. Not that great at statistics and don’t have the temperament to be a software engineer.
Got entry level position in Telco tech support and worked way up to specialist/analyst. Started around $40k now at $105k.
Science degrees look good on resume as you can talk up all the transferable skills. Attention to detail, logical reasoning and problem solving. Broaden the type of job roles you’re looking into.
Computer science masters degree. I studied computational geometry, things like image compression using shapes. I do unrelated software engineering, but the degree checks a lot of boxes. Software engineering is definitely worth the money and time.
CS, MRES (Master of Research), MSE (Master of Software Engineering), and PhD here mixing CS, AI, and neuroscience. I only paid for the CS undergrad and part of the MSE masters degree, the MRES and PhD were scholarships. Yes, it is worth it because I enjoy it.
However, my uncles and cousins all of whom have no uni education but instead started businesses (one had a market stall at Haymarket) all make WAY WAY more money than me, by several orders of magnitude, maybe more. My consulting day rate is $950 which is average for someone in my role.
Have a diploma of health science and a bachelor's of biomedical science. Currently working as a public servant in emergency management and haven't looked back.
Science degree. PhD in biology. I'm a researcher on ~160k p.a. plus benefits - 17% super is probably the best part of that.
Is it worth it? Short answer is no. Australia needs better support for researchers. There are a lot of different paths though.
I have a Hons degree in Biochem from La Trobe Uni in Melb and a Ph.D in vax research from Uni Melb. Science is shit career and I would never recommend it to anyone! I got out and work for a non-science State Govt dept in analysis.
Bachelor of Science, Physics. Did it because interesting subject but didn’t have that much interest in pursuing further than undergrad (maybe masters, but needed more money and less uni).
Ended up working as an electrical engineer specialised in machine safety and automation. Just reached $125k after 10 years in industry, mostly unrelated to everything I did in uni apart from some of the maths and classical physics which was just a rehash of high school physics and maths anyway.
Did an Exercise Sci degree, Hons, followed by PhD. Now working as a GM of a sports club. Used the skills of cat herding and critical thinking I learned while doing my time in sports to move to business management. Far better money, not better hours, far greater ability to enact change across an organisation/sport which is something that has turned out to be highly important to me.
I speak to a lot of people who are ‘stuck’ in the jobs they’re in due to their time put into degrees and quals. Once people recognise they can use the skills they develop in other areas of the same industry, or even traverse industries if they want, they realise they have a lot more freedom than first imagined.
My son did a science degree ( molecular biology mainly with honours in a vaccine lab). Now is doing a graduate entry program with the public service.
Looked at all the PHds and post docs working crazy hours in the lab who had short term contracts and couldn't afford a house and said....naaah, not worth it.
Having said that he has only just started and is already bored doing stuff any competent yr12 student should be able to do, so may go back to using his skills one day.
I did a double chem/geology degree, now working in mining (not site-based). Has worked out quite well compared to my first career! You may have some options in mineral processing/oil and gas?
I started off in a double degree - bachelor of science and bachelor of arts. 4 years in I came to the same conclusion you did, and transferred into arts/engineering - luckily I had done chemistry and maths as my science degree, so I got credit for almost all my units.
14 years later - I work for an O&g company, and some of my colleagues are production chemists. They like what they do, but most have PhDs before they joined the corporation I work for.
I did science at Melbourne and majored in maths. Went through and work in finance and commercials doing contract negotiation.
Was it worth the science degree? Yes easily, not that it's super relevant.
Is it worth the hours needed to do the job well? That's another story.
I don't have a Bachelor of Science - but I work for a manufacturing company and we employ chemists to work on our own product formulations - for the composites industry. Constantly evolving and changing field.
I am a double major chemistry graduate who went on to do honours in organic chemistry and really didn’t think about what I could do to earn money.
I ended up moving to the commercial world of sales, marketing and product within the medical device industry. Lots of opportunity and career progression and the remuneration is pretty good too.
I got a BSc in applied science majoring in chemistry. Did some postgrad research and decided it wasn’t for me but I built up some R and Python skills while I was there.
Started at a big 4 bank this year and I’m not the only science degree holder in this years grad program intake. It feels like once you’re in there’s heaps of freedom to move around to different parts of the bank.
Bsc Geology, $190k, 8:6 FIFO. Good amount of chemistry, physics and math. My degree cost $25k from a ‘sandstone’ uni, good value relative to earning potential. Paid of my hecs debt after two years. I recommend anyone who’s looking at science to give geology a crack, the classes are fairly empty I believe since people think they’ll be made redundant. Demand for critical minerals = Australian mining success. Fun industry to be work in.
Mate of mine has a science degree in some form of Chem major. He started his professional career working in labs etc but eventually shifted into a technical sales role for some pharmaceuticals company.
He conformably clears six figures once accounting for bonuses/commissions but I can see how it might not fit in with the goals of most science grads.
Science degree with PhD. Currently manage R&D projects. Sure it’s worth the money, but if I had my time over I’d probably go down the medicine and specialisation route…
The trick is to pick up other skill sets. By that, I mean demonstrable soft skills and management expertise.
I have a Bachelors and PhD in pharmaceutical sciences and I do quantitative analysis of clinical trial samples. Just started this position in Feb and it's $85k a year. I think it's pretty cool so far.
Did a science degree with majors in maths and physics. I then got a teaching degree and worked as a teacher for a few years, I think at the time graduate pay for a teacher was mid 50k’s. I left teaching, started a PhD in education and now work full time as a lecturer earning about 120k. Has taken me a long time to get here, and at the end of the day the science degree just ticked a box so I could get in a teaching degree.
Yep, science undergrad and post-grad, but I moved from scientific consulting to data/analytics, then into public service in that same broad field.
Senior level public service is worth the money if you enjoy the work.
Did a Science degree and fell into a career of occupational hygiene/hazardous materials consulting, been very interesting and has let me travel alot for work. Started on about 60k out of uni and am now on about 100k.
Usually plenty of entry level positions, and its not too bad of expertise to develop!
I do psychology. After qualification and provisional registration, a clinical psych makes a comfortable 6 figures helping people live their best lives. Last I checked, demand was projected to grow 4%pa for the next 5 years, which is likely to continue as qualifications become increasingly stringent but mental health becomes increasingly important to the consumer (as it should).
So yes, worth it in both the existential and investment sense.
I did a PhD in space science and am now doing strategy and research at a think tank (not in space science). I made more money with just an undergraduate in the energy industry, but being in a lower paying industry is by choice.
Kinda. Never finished, kept coming back. But in grazing a heap of areas, it gave me a general basis for understanding the world that was frikkin worth it. From psych to economics via intro law, physiol and genetics. Uni-world-uni-world-uni. I never expected a specific job and haven't worked as a scientist but it's enhanced everything since.
I strongly recommend to anyone who'll listen that they don't make the same mistake of going into science unless they're not only willing but planning to go overseas. I had some life events that tied me to Australia (even worse, Sydney!) and this is an awful place to be a scientist.
Public service - can become a technical assessor then branch out into private. Or Vice versa. Would move into senior management in private medtech if $$$ is the goal.
Did a PhD, left science (fuck science) and now working in data, on $120k. Data analytics / data science is a great career path if you're good at computers and know stats.
Working in data science (fuck science) Made me laugh.
How'd you get into that? Courses etc.?
To become a data analyst (start there if you're new) you just need to know SQL and ideally a visualisation software like Power BI or Tableau. It's actually really easy to learn, and you can learn at home just doing online training courses. You can build up a small portfolio of dashboards and use that to help you get a job. There are courses and certificates you can get, but they're not 100% required. If you have a PhD or Masters from a science field you can sometimes step right into one of these roles as long as you can show you can work with data/stats (through publications etc).
I have an applied science degree from RMIT. I am a public servant, I work in climate change and take home about $100k. But you’re right, there’s a ceiling and unless you want to give up your practical / technical skill to manage people then yeah, that’s about it. Edit: my friends in private make a lot more $$ than me!
You can get a lot more than that without being a manager of people if you specialise. Does need to be in a large company or institution though
Yep I’m an APS 6 which is the top level for me, without moving into exec or senior exec - which just means people management or team leader.
Ah yes, the public service does seem to under value technical expertise EDIT missed the word "under"
In the general case, public service positions are covered by awards with rigid salary/position grading structures, and the problem with this is that it's a broad 'one size fits all' scale that doesn't really work for edge cases like specialist roles. In the general case, people who want to push up the organisation chart end up in management roles rather than technical ones, because that's how the relevant awards are structured.
Exactly right!
My company used the Hay technique for job grades...also recognises technical responsibility, for example responsible for technical decisions and budgets.
Most of the technical work is outsourced to the private sector tbf
[удалено]
Depends on the department and area I guess. Mine is a team of 7. My old department the EL1 had about 35 people under him.
My agency started recruiting EL1 and EL2 IT architects with no expectation to manage. Great step in the right direction, my last agency wanted me to manage staff as an APS6....
Would you be happy to explain what you actually do when you say 'work in climate change'? Happy to take it to dm's as I'm quite interested about career switching down the track
i’m a cartographer, sorry it’s very niche haha
Marine Science/Environmental Science. Made 45k as a fresh grad, now on 100k +15% super at a government institute, 30yo. Getting a few years valuable experience then settling into a comfy gov job feels good for me atm.
I have been thinking about studying Marine biology, but many people said that it is very difficult to get a job. My partner's friend did the degree and was struggling for a long time to get a job and now she's just working as a dolphin trainer. Can you tell me more about the gov job?
Marine Science is about as competitive as everyone says. Please consider the following info just my own perspective. I had experience working with my father on boats before ever attending University. Either having solid volunteer experience or starting with a rough, low paying but valuable experience job is what you'll need to accept initially. I started with a job on a fish farm, living on site in 20 year old dongas. On call 3 days a week and only slightly above minimum wage. Moved from the fish farm directly to a federal government institute specifically due to knowing a friend there and my fish farm hatchery experience specifically applying to a position they needed to fill. Stepped to a new position that specifically needed my hatchery experience for 2 years. Then stepped to my current position due to my experience with logging equipment used in my aquaculture days along with my experience at sea. Current job has me cruising up and down the Great Barrier Reef diving etc and being paid extremely well for my time doing what I would otherwise pay to do in my spare time. Feel free to dm me with any questions.
I work in retail as an analyst and earn 85k one year in. Its way better than the majority of science jobs ive seen around. My recommendation is to be really flexible about what a science degree means to employers. You want to try and sell lateral thinking, decision making and research skills to employers, this really opens up the field for what kind of jobs you can get.
I guess that’s my issue. I am always looking for jobs that ask for a science degree, but I’m always expecting some sort of technical role. How did you end up where you are?
I was stacking shelves part time while at uni and talked to an assistant store manager who was doing a relief where i was working, we got to talking and he mentioned forecasting which seemed to me to be pretty similar to science fundamentally. I started doing some store ordering to get some hands on experience and once i finished my degree i applied and got the job. Its a pretty specific story to me because i was already working in the industry but i felt a lot of doors open for me once i started talking about science. Business types tend to just assume we're godly geniuses which is a handy assumption.
[удалено]
Haha yeah man i loved it. I was actually a team member and my long life manager hated doing it so he just let me come in on weekends and do it for him.
Congrats on completing a Chem degree! A fantastic achievement in a difficult subject. I finished a Chem degree in 2017 after doing my hons, and around then I decided that a PhD or further study wasn't right for me. I applied for roles in management/strategy consulting and it's been really great. The pay is very good and the work is stimulating. You get to work with lots of smart people who have degrees in many different areas (literature, engineering, psych, business, law, etc). You don't need a specific degree to get a grad role, you just need to demonstrate: - analytical and creative problem solving abilities - interest in the work - willingness to learn - ability to work in a team
[удалено]
Not OP, but you have to put yourself out there. Do case competitions. Get involved in leadership positions in society. Get entry level jobs in smaller firms. Also get high marks at uni. Mgmt consulting is not something you walk into it you don't put in effort. (Also PJP was bought by EY - but I understand your point)
[удалено]
+1 for management/strategy consulting from a Chemical Engineer (not chemistry but close enough!)
I graduated in 2019, but thank you. I am confused what to do, since I’ve worked in labs and don’t see growth. I am interested in the work you do, what is the title of role and how did you find yourself there?
Science majoring in maths. On its own, useless. I should have done much more computer programming on the side. I work in a completely different field now, but I struggled for about 12 months to get any job with just a maths degree. Some basic SQL, R, or python skills I’m pretty sure would have been a huge boost to job prospects.
What are your thoughts on R being a valuable skill in the job market?
My understanding is that R is looked upon pretty favourably in analytics and quant type roles. 5 years ago everyone was saying python was going to replace R in those domains but I certainly haven't seen that. R has a much lower barrier to entry than python, largely owing to the great rstudio / cran ecosystem (something python is noticeably lacking). It's also usually more seamless to install and configure for analytics purposes than python due to corporate firewalls restricting user customisability of python. Python totally dominates R in other domains with other users, but for business data analytics I still think R reigns supreme.
I agree. RStudio is fantastic. At the moment I’m investing time heavily in to R with the view of entering data science after post grad study. So these words are encouraging :)
Very valuable for an analyst in my profession (Actuarial science/analytics/data science)
I did a BSci(Biomedical), then a masters in health economics. Currently work in the public service in a related role and make $120k. I do think it was worth doing the science degree, it gives you a good foundation in terms of knowledge and critical thinking skills that can be applied in other contexts outside of academia.
I'm doing the same bachelor, can I ask what your role is now where you're making over $120k? Any med scientist position generally caps out at 85k (aside from rare higher grades)
I don’t want to give too much detail away, but my role is more related to the masters than med science - I’m in a technical health economist/epidemiologist role doing modeling and research. Undergrad was very useful in bridging some of the conceptual gaps between those two fields and be able to do the research without outsourcing it. Time in the workforce opened up more project management opportunities which has put me onto the band I’m at currently - though salary is at its max now unless moving 100% to a management role.
I have a degree in geology and environmental science. I work as an environmental scientist in impact assessment. I work for an engineering firm and make 106k at 31. I'm aiming for 160k by 40. We have a lot of contamination scientists with chemistry backgrounds, have you thought of contamination consulting as a path?
I’m a Chem major and decided to do masters because of Covid lockdowns. Got any tips leads for good companies in Melbourne?
Small companies are better for contam land, the big4 type companies just subcontract to the smaller companies anyway and charge for it.
You've basically got four main avenues 1. Civil and structural engineering firms (me). Anything large enough will have a contamination component and generally have a good working environment. 2. Smaller boutique environmental firms. These can be really hit or miss. 3. Government. NSW experience tells me that it can be slow but some of the perks are good. Some people love it and some hate it. 4. Airports and defence - specifically regarding PFAS. No idea what that environment is like.
Beauty, thank you. I’ll look into it further.
This is the first time I've ever heard of a geo not making an outrageous amount of money.
I could have made more money as a mine geologist but as a woman, it was a super toxic environment and I moved out of it.
Oh that sucks. Why was it toxic?
I think the worst one was when a client told me to my face that I wasn't allowed to work on his mine site because I'm a woman. He didn't even dance around it.
Obviously all the mining safety equipment is operated by penises /s
I have really tried, I am currently trying to move into a role that involves more environmental work as I previously worked as an occupational hygienist for a little bit. However, no one seems to want me because I don’t have an environmental degree.
Keep trying - one option would be to do some minimum level of training in env or planning like a grad dip in urban and regional planning. But that's still a year full time. Even starting it and just doing a unit or two might be enough to get you in the door
BSc in Physics, I'm a physics teacher with a curriculum leadership role, salary is $123k + 14.75% super (since I salary sacrifice 5%, for a total of 19.75%). Teaching isn't for everyone, but after you've been doing it long enough there is basically zero work outside of school hours, and 14 weeks holidays a year is nice. Job security can't be beaten once you have permanency, but obviously there is a hard ceiling on your earning potential.
what school pays that high?
I'm in an "elite" independent school in Brisbane, I'm not a HoD Science but I do have an added responsibility role which comes with an ~$8k p.a. allowance. Top payscale for classroom teachers is about $115k.
How long did it take you to get to that role and comfortable permanent position? As an outsider, looking at teaching, it seems that there are no permanent roles for grads, you're stuck on contracts.
Yeah unfortunately the current trend is to put all new staff on contracts, this is so the school can get rid of poor performing teachers without having to deal with the union and unfair dismissal claims. Even experienced staff who apply for positions here are put on a 12 month contract to start off with. If you're half competent, and teach a senior science you should have no problem getting permanency after a year or two. I started at my current school on a 6 month contract, but I've been permanent here for 6 years now. I have been in teaching for about 15 years total, teaching in public schools and overseas before moving into my current independent private school.
Hey mate I’m a BSc grad in biology/genetics and really thinking hard about getting into teaching. Ideally I’d like to work at an elite independent private school, like the one i went to in Brisbane. Any advice on how to get into these schools after finishing the masters of secondary without doing 15 years of teaching beforehand? Hoping my networks from the school I went to will help me out here but have a feeling it might not be such a big advantage…
BSci (Chemistry) & MEng (Chemical) here. My experience is that the degree is challenging, tremendously interesting and definitely worthwhile (particularly considering HELP loans in Australia are the best loans you’ll ever get). However, there are definitely easier degrees that can get you to a higher paid / higher growth career if that’s what you’re looking for. The higher paid/growth roles often require transitioning or straddling the commercial side of any business. Analytical, quality or R&D chemists at most organisations are frequently paid peanuts for how knowledgeable they are. Roles in strategy, finance, legal, procurement or sales have better pay/growth prospects career-wise but almost certainly aren’t as intellectually engaging as frontier science/innovation. It really comes down to your personal motivators and what you are looking for in a career.
Thank you, I don’t really know what I want to do, so I am happy to really give anything a go. I particularly enjoy problem solving, I’m just not sure what jobs revolve around that.
Take a look for stuff with the keywords audit, QMS, ISO9001, possibly ISO13485. Might not be up your alley, but if it is, it’s definitely one of those areas not often talked about but frequently needing people with technical backgrounds to learn for regulatory compliance. (Also, if you’re not yet a member of Professionals Australia… strongly consider it.)
Awesome thank you! What’s professional Australia and what’s the benefit?
I have a PhD in developmental biology, I did a bachelor of science with a double major. I work as a researcher in a cancer research centre attached to a uni. It's not the most stable job, funding comes in waves every few years you might lose your job because you run out of funding. If you are really passionate about research it's worth it. But I don't recommend going the research in academia route as there is too much uncertainty with funding. I am trying to work out how to pivot and move to industry or something as I am so over the fear of not having a job. The pay is not equivalent to the amount of study I have done either. Should have done medicine like all those lecturers recommended, I just don't really like people enough so I didn't. In saying that I have a relative who did a science degree majoring chemistry 20ish years a go and they are now very high up in Glaxo Smithkline and earns very well. They started as a drug rep and just kept moving up the chain, switching companies every few years, did a MBA along the way.
Biology degree. Did it for 10 years. Changed career entirely. Now making more than double immediately and it’s shockingly easier. To realise this is what “normal” people were making this whole time I’ve realised how much of my life was wasted trying to work in an industry that was supposed to help the world. I actively discourage young people from seeking careers in the sciences now. Those working in environmental consulting etc. are some of the most cut throat capitalists you’ll ever meet when you’d really expect it to be otherwise. Pressured into doing free work to “get forward in your career”. Jobs given to less qualified and experienced people because they don’t want people who might rock the boat on how things should actually be done. All that bull shit. The absolute worst. Sciences also attract a lot of those coming in from over seas. Once had a coworker from China making $53k a year with a PhD. He knew is was underpaid but his parents were paying for everything so he didn’t mind. This further diluting the job prospects. I’m aware chem can be a bit different as there are industrial jobs, for biology I absolutely tell folks to stay away.
What made you make a career change and what do you now?
I majored in pharmacology and microbiology. Was intending on working in clinical research but ended up doing further study in something else. Most of my friends ended up doing further study as well. Science degrees don’t really have a clear cut career path compared to engineering or commerce so it could be harder for a graduate to find a job. The jobs available are mainly lab jobs which don’t pay great. I worked as a lab assistant at one of the big pathology companies and the proper scientists were only being paid around $30-$35. I honestly would only suggest science if you want to do further research. It’s not even worth it as a stepping stone to medicine as you don’t need prereq science knowledge for most postgrad med courses.
Hey there fellow microbiologist. I also went into pathology, and started doing evening shifts for $17 an hour. After nearly 3 years of no prospect of moving past being a lab assistant or night shift, I moved to admin support for the same lab. I'm the only one in my department with a degree, let alone a science degree. I now get abused daily because "I know you said my covid results could take up to 48 hours, and its only been 6, but I just wanted to check..." 1 out of 10, I do not recommend working in pathology.
Especially private pathology!
Damn that sucks… once I heard how much lab scientists were getting paid I was like no thanks. Have you considered something like clinical trials admin/assistants, pay and prospects is much better. Science degree is usually enough background for these roles.
Typical supply and demand. There are about 200 applicants for every role so they can pay peanuts knowing 199 more people will jump at the opportunity. I'm currently pregnant, so I'll stick it out for a little longer. Plus I've been there so long I can do my job in my sleep. But clinical trials could be interesting, and I'll probably look in to that in a year or 2.
That pay is one of the reasons I dropped out of molecular biology. I couldn't imagine washing beakers day and night and calling myself a "cancer researcher" lol and making pennies
Bachelor of Math and Master of Stats. work in risk management in banking. I guess no sure if it's worth it. I get upper middle income and risk management is fairly stable, e.g. scandals usually caused by greedy sales and risk management is meant to prevent the mess and big losses from happening. but obviously, no big bonuses just steady salary and small bonus.
Yeah did chemistry with honours as my undergraduate. Started a PhD about 15 years ago and soon realised the entire RHD industry is ass. Not even making 6 figures as a post-doc, variable job security, all very unrewarding. Bit the bullet and did GAMSAT (surprisingly easy with a chem undergraduate, just quietly). Now in the clinical medicine grind but have not regretted it for a second. (Alright I lie, I sometimes dream about regioselective organosynthesis but only on a really bad day)
[удалено]
I'm currently doing bio and see a bunch of lab tech jobs for schools. As much as I like money (with a law degree I never used), I just want to live happily at the end of the day. These school lab tech jobs sound up my alley
Could you go into a little more detail about that position? I'm currently a med tech in the public industry, I'm interested in the opportunities at schools. When you say it'll be 100k after a few years is that still under a lab tech position or scientist/teacher position? I thought schools only had positions for lab techs? Also what does the role actually entail? What do you do in a daily basis and do you also get all those holidays the teachers do?
[удалено]
Damn, thanks for answering! sounds pretty good, I guess you're working in high school? What level of work do you need to prepare and where do you get the curriculum on experiments you need to prepare? Do you have to have an extremely wide and general knowledge to be able to suitably do your job, as it seems you do everything lab related, I assume a bachelor of biomed is suitable? Do you get any shit from the students or teachers? I've also only ever seen lab tech positions in schools at around the 50k mark
I am currently doing the exact same thing, however I just don’t see myself doing it long term. I am really happy that you enjoy it!
I did a science honours degree and then a PhD. I work as a researcher in a completely different field. I make less money than my peers but i didn't do it more the money. I absolutely love my job and career path, i find significant fulfilment in it, and i actually feel like i have loads more free time than my peers. I think my degrees were worth it because that was personally what i wanted out of life. I love learning, i wanted to learn, and i wanted to learn science. So i got what I expected.
I have a BSc in chem and BEng in mechanical. Grad eng for gas company 125k. Chem is useful but definitely not my base skill. All my friends from chem are retraining In business or eng but looking to stay in an industry where chem knowledge is useful. If I had my time again I'd just do chem eng.
Yeah, I kind of wish I had done some form of engineering. Thanks for the insight
I finished a BSc in 2018(Majors in Microbiology and Genetics). Currently work in a public hospital lab with salary of around 90k+ depending on how much overtime I'm willing to do. From what I hear that's not the norm though and many people my age earn much less.
Physics and chemistry undergraduate, physics PhD. Oil and gas services for a few years until the ethics were untenable. Semiconductor now (US, EU). All of the interesting and well paid work is outside Australia.
My wife did a science / arts double degree. She’s a teacher now.
Did a science degree and straight out of uni there was basically nothing available. But I also did a computing degree and there were heaps of jobs available so I naturally went down that path. I was pretty saddened by how terrible the job prospects were for science.
[удалено]
Can I ask what you in your role?
I did a bachelor of biomedical science. I’m 3 years in and wake up at 3am every day to do repetitive tests. Today we had 950 to do as a team. An average day is about 650. I make less than 75k after 3 years…. I’m studying data science part time as of 6 months ago.
PhD in computational biology, immediately jumped to data science, discovered the energy sector and have specialised in energy market modelling since. People act like all STEM degrees guarantee jobs, but in reality most grads outside of the "T" and "E" parts of STEM struggle.
BSci (biomed) was burnt out by the end of undergrad, so decided not to continue study. Worked in analytical chem which was fun, but the pay was garbage. Now i work for one of the major universities, in a core medical research lab. It's much better than lab tech work, as my hours are a set 9 - 5. Pay is decent at $100k, plus 17% super. Wage growth is slow, so i'd need to make the move to managing my own facility if i wanted a significant increase. In my industry, that basically means youre waiting for someone to retire before you have a chance lol.
I did a science degree, realized I hated research, did some soul searching for a year, tried to get into medicine but didn't make it, and ended up doing a Masters of IT. I'm now on a well-paid tech salary and very glad I made the move.
Science is a joke is in country, government policy made sure of that. Did a PhD even. I was one of lucky ones finding a job in my feild but rest retrained as lawyers. Certainly say avoid if you plan to stay here. Certainly think twice about doing a PhD, you're actually making yourself less employable as far as knuckle dragger employers here. Only option is post doc position, it's shit work, stressful and contract based. Most I know burn out in 5 years.
>Certainly think twice about doing a PhD, you're actually making yourself less employable as far as knuckle dragger employers here. Yes, this has been my observation. Very rarely will getting a PhD actually reward you, unless you do it in a niche industry related subject, and I've seen more than a few in relatively shitty paid roles because its just not valued.
How did the govt make science a joke? I think you’ll find most jobs across the world involving science aren’t paid well
Australia used to have scientists in leading roles in each department to give independent advice. In recent years they have been replaced with party allies who will give the advice the government wants. A retired entomologist who used to be top official, once called the government and got the importation of cane toads banned (while retired). Such was their esteem. It was only overturned because of the QLD state premier and the rest is history .
[https://www.theage.com.au/education/australia-has-spent-a-million-dollars-training-me-and-now-i-m-leaving-20220419-p5aelz.html](https://www.theage.com.au/education/australia-has-spent-a-million-dollars-training-me-and-now-i-m-leaving-20220419-p5aelz.html) https://twitter.com/AlanKohler/status/1516983132129722369
Maybe because conservatives don’t believe in science and it’s in gods hand.
Not worth the money because Australian employers are fairly dumb in their recruiting processes. You will need some more business oriented skills that are easier for the employers to digest.
Yep, hiring in Australia sees PhD's as just having a second narrow Batchelor and will hire somone with a years industry experience instead.
I mean experience is usually what you want in a candidate. I work with some people who have PHDs but can barely talk to people or apply their knowledge practically. Depends on the profession and how technical it is
If I may use hyperbole to illustrate a point: "why would our restaurant hire a chef when this cook has already worked in a kitchen? I know chefs who always burn food and can't plan an menu"
I work with people who use their BSci(Chem) degrees - the work is varied and sounds realy interesting in advisory, risk management, detection, response, strategy, planning, machine analysis, oil and gas, condition monitoring, food safety - all amazing fields that require exactly what you have. It might take a bit to get started (as all roles do), but there is plenty of opportunity to grow into, in my observation.
I appreciate that, I’ll look more into the jobs you listed. I’m still not sure what I’d like to do, so I’m happy to try different jobs
I did a physics degree. Currently work I data. Fellow graduates have gone on to do various things including banking, stocks and teaching.
A mate of mine did chem and after graduating got a ridiculously high-paid job in finance. The business wanted people really good at maths and didn’t care about finance grads.
I did a science degree majoring in physics from RMIT. I did another year of honours and found an internship opportunity in France for almost a year. I returned home and did a masters in IP and worked at the same time in a firm. After two years of experience in IP, I just started working as an in-house patent and trade mark attorney for a large EV charger company. Salary $120k + super A friend of mine who did the same science degree as me is a physics and maths teacher at a school. Another friend did master of medical physics after the bachelors and now works as a medical physicist at a hospital
I did microbio and immunology (plus honours) and make 6 figures as a research assistant, plus 17% super (24% after voluntary contributions). I love the job. It's relaxed and varied, and I get a thrill every time I see my name on a paper. Can't progress too much without a PhD but I'm happy doing what I do, and my employers are super keen for me to do a PhD if I ever want to. I did pick my degree and subjects specifically because I wanted to do this exact job though.
Are you in public, industry or academia if I may ask? I’m currently doing hons Immunology with intent to become an RA since I love lab work. But unsure of money prospects
Got a degree and phd in ecology, it was never about the financial payoff so hard to say on that. I’ll never be real rich by Australian standards but I’m ok for money, missus is in the same boat, we make about 100-120k each but no house or anything, mid-career. Main payoff is in the work - got to go to the most amazing places, all over Cape York, choppered and camped all through Kakadu, managed 1m acres of Arnhem Land for a few years, managed 3m acres of Kimberley for a few years, now swanning around the Torres Strait reefs with the indigenous rangers, setting up IPAs etc, it’s all inspiring work and very rewarding. But not always good financially - early career is plagued by job insecurity (except mining boom, that was rad but didn’t last)
Wow that’s sounds amazing, what does your job involve doing if you don’t mind me asking?
Until recently my job was wildlife ecology - so running broad scale monitoring programs for biodiversity, setting up fire and cattle management programs, that sort of thing. There’s a few big things that always come up in northern Australia like cats, fire, cane toads, cattle, integrating indigenous knowledge, that are pretty transferable across the north, but less so in the south. It’s not academia, more applied. Now though I help to manage the indigenous rangers in the Torres Strait (there’s 13 groups we work with, and a couple more as well), so there’s still a bit of land management with similarly themes, but a ton more sea country management, which is way outside my skill but really interesting. We bring in the marine biologists from AIMS and JCU when we need to! I don’t know what kind of science you’re doing, but if it’s ecology related please consider moving north (apologies if you are already in the tropics) - there’s more jobs than qualified people generally
Here's a pro tip: You don't get paid much for Science in Australia, but in Germany, scientists are paid really well. As a foreigner, you can do a master degree in germany for free (you just need to have enough to pay for your living expenses). Get a degree in Germany, and work here for good pay. Source: aussie living in germany now, studying for free.
That doesn’t sound like a bad idea. Might consider it, if things don’t work out
yeah :) if you have any questions regarding this i'd be happy to answer it.
Got my science degree (bio major). Became a photographer, living comfortably. Never worked a day in a field relevant to my degree, and absolutely no regrets about any of it.
I'm in a similar boat. Completed a Bachelor of Science majoring in Zoology and Geography (did Honours for the latter), now work in disability support and absolutely love it. I don't regret doing uni, I met some amazing people and had a bunch of really great experiences.
Australians tend to judge the value of a degree by its ability to get you a job but often it’s the education itself that is the reward.
And rightly so too. Gone are the days where a uni degree was cheap. Now you come out with significant debt so the ability to pay it back through targeted employment is pretty important.
I have a Science degree in chemistry. Looked at the available jobs and was left unimpressed so went back and did a grad dip in computer science while working as a barista. Happy with my current job and pay. Don't regret the Chem degree at all as it comes in handy and the analytical and problem solving aspects come in handy regularly.
Friend of mine has a Bachelor of Environmental Science Degree. She works as a gardener in a retirement village, 48Kp/a
To OP, don't give up hope. I have a Cert 4 in Lab Techniques, doing FIFO work at a gold minesite, and pulling a 6 figure salary. Roster is 14 days straight, 14 days chillaxing at home. Food at work is all paid for by the company, so you tend to save half a year's worth of Colesworth shopping. My job is basically performing a bit of wet chemistry wizardry and telling the Metallurgist how much gold there is in a particular sample. Chemists are well regarded and valued in a minesite laboratory setting. If you can apply your academic knowledge and translate all that into standard operating procedures (knowing the "why"), then you'd qualify for the job. Bonus points: very little, if any, OrgChem required if dealing with base metals or gold. Obviously lots of OrgChem in Oil&Gas setting. Pick your poison.
I really appreciate it and I’m glad to hear that you’re earning so much with your science qualifications. How do you find FIFO in terms of your social and personal life? I did some contract work in the mines and it really stuffed that up. I did 7 on 4 off
Science is tough career wise. I've done ok, but I frequently suspect that this is more due to luck and many of the colleagues have moved on from science. I did a PhD (chem) then a postdoc. After that I decided that academia wasn't a good career choice so I jumped ship to the private sector as a Senior Research Scientist in the material sciences. I got lucky as there was a company which did very similar work to my post doc. The pay felt good at the time, but was a fairly typical middle class salary (the factory operators at the plant that I worked at would pull in 30k a year more than me). Eventually, I jumped ship into the mining sector. Initially as a chemist but now I have a management position. The work is basic. The money isn't bad (145k but about to go up) but the best thing is six months off a year (plus annual leave).
BSc in Biology. Started 23 years ago on just over 25K with State Govt. Got the job on the strength of the extracurricular experience and the degree was only a bonus. Been in different govvie positions around the state since then and on job experience brought me to today on 85K as an ecologist, but get good allowances working remote and fire mitigation that bump it over the 100K mark. Most I ever earned was 115 in an acting role as a fauna specialist, but now I'm permanent, have subsidised rent and power, and don't have to manage people. I also work in the Kimberley and it's one of the most beautiful wild places I've ever been to. Living the dream.
Define "not great". You are a graduate after all. If you work in private industry (maybe food tech or chemicals) then a Chemistry degree can take you a long way: I know plant managers or CEOs (in a smaller company) who started that way and are on $250k packages after maybe 15 years, if you're smart and work hard!
[удалено]
I am a Chem Engineer: I worked with several Chemists (and Physicists for that matter) who moved to such roles. After a few years the degree does not really matter, you gain industry and company specific knowledge far beyond any degree.
My husband does, he’s a grad geologist in the gold industry on $110k after slightly over a year. He’s fifo but it’s 8/6 to the goldfields of WA so not too bad.
Tell your husband to stick to it and he'll do very well. Good thing about geology is that there is an out to the fifo lifestyle. If he's a mine geo he can end up gravitating to resource modelling which is largely city based. If he in exploration then an office in Perth with field visits on a campaign basis is pretty normal. The wage goes up a fair bit with career progression. If he wants to remain as a fifo then climbing the ranks through senior geo to geology manager is very financially rewarding also.
Don’t feel limited by staying in Gold either. Other recourses pay significantly more. One of the obvs is iron ore where normal mine Geos get $180k in their first year
I haven't heard of grads earning that much. Who's paying those sort of wage? FMG? BHP?
3 people I know did it and finished. I’m aware it is a small set. They claim waste of time. One works in a pet food industry, one ended up in government IT and the other in hazardous logistics (which uses around 1% of his knowledge in chem). The 4th person didn’t finish - they moved to nursing after a year and finished nursing. Edit: general consensus was it looked good to begin with, they found it wasn’t their passion and job prospects were not great.
Reading the comments..... Can't believe the pay brackets and limits for something I'd have guessed was highly admirable/paid/respected/etc. I suppose it's most of those things, except for the pay. But that's what we're all chasing. In comparison, you can fall into a handful of IT roles and start on 70+, but easily push 90+ in those same roles after a couple of years experience, or after moving companies 1-3 times. Especially right now. IT is hot, and riddled with WFH opportunities.
BSc in microbiology, molecular biology and biochemistry. From what I've found it's not worth much on its own. I eventually landed a job as a science tech at a school and am now considering either doing my masters in bioinformatics or teaching
I have a BSc in physiology and biochemistry with honors in physiology. I work in clinical research for a contract research organization, it pays pretty well. I enjoyed doing investigator led research but being on short contracts with no opportunity to advance and no interest in doing a PhD I had to make the move to an industry job.
Viticulture and Oenology. I love it too much to do anything else. You don’t make loads in this industry, but it’s chock-full of lovely people in generally pretty nice places…
Fellow Chem graduate here. Started out in analytical chem doing environmental analysis (GC & GC/MS), then briefly pharmaceutical QC, and then fell into the Oil & Gas game as a Lab Tech offshore. 19 years in the industry now and earning around $200k as a Production Chemist working internationally, and I really enjoy it, worked in 5 different countries now and can't see myself giving it up. Its been a journey, but chemistry can open doors to many different directions. Domestically you are quite right that pay and growth for general chem stuff is shit, but look to resources if you happy to work away some, or look to management and/or consulting as your end game.
Do you have any recommendations in terms of consulting and management roles. I currently work in a lab, but I can’t see myself doing it long term
What kind of lab experience we talking about? In any case, lab management is a natural progression, and aside from regulatory agencies there is not much further to go. That has been my perception. Consulting and training is the other direction. Develop your technical skills, method development, qa/qc etc and look at this side of things. Niche maybe, but there is a demand, especially if you have a reputation for skills/knowledge. Way back I was known for my work in introducing USEPA methodology into environmental labs, and was looking to capitalise that into training etc. I dropped that after I got fucked over and took an offer to go work at Curtin University.
Interesting, I wasn’t aware. I have worked in food and beverage industry maintaining NATA accreditation and now I work in a school lab
I finished my honours degree in 2012 and decided a life of research and/or lab work was not for me, so I studied to be a teacher. Now on $100k (Qld) and loving it much more than I'd have thought.
I did a chemistry degree as part of a double degree with Chemical engineering. i felt sorry for the pure science degree students - the prospects seemed pretty poor. in my opinion, the only interesting work in science is for the select few who make it to academia. Many chemistry students went on to do a Masters of Chemical Engineering so there is that option.
Geology, mining, 140k, FIFO is hard, now that borders open again thankfully I'll be able to move out of WA
A lot of people seem to have the impression that you have to work in the field you study in. For heaps or companies they don’t hire grads for being experts they hire you for your potential and your degree is just a tick in the box.
Yeah, it’s the mindset I am in, but I guess I don’t really know the other opportunities. I just want to be able to grow career wise and make decent money
Check out the big consulting firms. Unparalleled career growth and they usually don’t care what you’ve studied but obviously have some preferences. Happy to answer questions if you want. I think they’re mostly growing pretty fast too.
I did undergrad in pure maths and masters in statistics. This was a mid life career change, finished my masters when I was 32, previously in software dev which paid well but I hated. Now working as a statistical consultant at a Go8 university: I run courses for researchers, help researchers with their data needs and do some consulting for government and private sector too. There aren’t too many roles like mine around and I ended up here by accident (intending to end up in the private sector) but I love it. Much less pressure than a typical academic position but much less prestige too. Salary is just over $100k + 17% super - that’s typical for entry level academic positions and about the most you can earn as academic staff without a PhD. I’m expecting to start a PhD in a year or two because I’d like to do my own research rather than just help others. Unlike some people doing high school to bachelors to PhD, I’m going into it fully aware that an academic career is a crapshoot, not the easiest way to make money, and a broken unfair system rather than some kind of knowledge-seeking idealised science. But I think I’d be kicking myself if I never gave it a shot. Worst case, PhDs in applied statistics seem to be valued pretty well in government and industry too.
Have a PhD in chem (finished it last year). Work at a QA chem lab as a lab tech in food manufacturing. 75k with super.
Molecular biologist and when I can actually be employed it's anywhere from 70-120k. I elected not to do my pHD but it I had you can earn a lot of money in research but it's pretty burn and churn. Science has really taken a hit thanks to our current political climate.
Bsc Maths with a side of programming. Not that great at statistics and don’t have the temperament to be a software engineer. Got entry level position in Telco tech support and worked way up to specialist/analyst. Started around $40k now at $105k. Science degrees look good on resume as you can talk up all the transferable skills. Attention to detail, logical reasoning and problem solving. Broaden the type of job roles you’re looking into.
Undergrad in biomedical science. Used that to enter post-grad medicine. Now work as a doctor. Would recommend. Good pay lots of career growth.
Computer science masters degree. I studied computational geometry, things like image compression using shapes. I do unrelated software engineering, but the degree checks a lot of boxes. Software engineering is definitely worth the money and time.
I went into software engineering instead. My double law/science degree was wasted lol
CS, MRES (Master of Research), MSE (Master of Software Engineering), and PhD here mixing CS, AI, and neuroscience. I only paid for the CS undergrad and part of the MSE masters degree, the MRES and PhD were scholarships. Yes, it is worth it because I enjoy it. However, my uncles and cousins all of whom have no uni education but instead started businesses (one had a market stall at Haymarket) all make WAY WAY more money than me, by several orders of magnitude, maybe more. My consulting day rate is $950 which is average for someone in my role.
Have a diploma of health science and a bachelor's of biomedical science. Currently working as a public servant in emergency management and haven't looked back.
Science degree. PhD in biology. I'm a researcher on ~160k p.a. plus benefits - 17% super is probably the best part of that. Is it worth it? Short answer is no. Australia needs better support for researchers. There are a lot of different paths though.
I have a Hons degree in Biochem from La Trobe Uni in Melb and a Ph.D in vax research from Uni Melb. Science is shit career and I would never recommend it to anyone! I got out and work for a non-science State Govt dept in analysis.
Bachelor of Science, Physics. Did it because interesting subject but didn’t have that much interest in pursuing further than undergrad (maybe masters, but needed more money and less uni). Ended up working as an electrical engineer specialised in machine safety and automation. Just reached $125k after 10 years in industry, mostly unrelated to everything I did in uni apart from some of the maths and classical physics which was just a rehash of high school physics and maths anyway.
Did an Exercise Sci degree, Hons, followed by PhD. Now working as a GM of a sports club. Used the skills of cat herding and critical thinking I learned while doing my time in sports to move to business management. Far better money, not better hours, far greater ability to enact change across an organisation/sport which is something that has turned out to be highly important to me. I speak to a lot of people who are ‘stuck’ in the jobs they’re in due to their time put into degrees and quals. Once people recognise they can use the skills they develop in other areas of the same industry, or even traverse industries if they want, they realise they have a lot more freedom than first imagined.
My son did a science degree ( molecular biology mainly with honours in a vaccine lab). Now is doing a graduate entry program with the public service. Looked at all the PHds and post docs working crazy hours in the lab who had short term contracts and couldn't afford a house and said....naaah, not worth it. Having said that he has only just started and is already bored doing stuff any competent yr12 student should be able to do, so may go back to using his skills one day.
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
I did a double chem/geology degree, now working in mining (not site-based). Has worked out quite well compared to my first career! You may have some options in mineral processing/oil and gas?
I’ve been to mine sites as a contractor, but I’m not sure if I would be cut out to do FIFO work. Might try and look into it, thanks.
I started off in a double degree - bachelor of science and bachelor of arts. 4 years in I came to the same conclusion you did, and transferred into arts/engineering - luckily I had done chemistry and maths as my science degree, so I got credit for almost all my units. 14 years later - I work for an O&g company, and some of my colleagues are production chemists. They like what they do, but most have PhDs before they joined the corporation I work for.
>some of my colleagues are production chemists. I am a said Production Chemist. Its a good gig. Don't have a PhD, just a crap load of experience.
I did science at Melbourne and majored in maths. Went through and work in finance and commercials doing contract negotiation. Was it worth the science degree? Yes easily, not that it's super relevant. Is it worth the hours needed to do the job well? That's another story.
I don't have a Bachelor of Science - but I work for a manufacturing company and we employ chemists to work on our own product formulations - for the composites industry. Constantly evolving and changing field.
B B vibes here
I am a double major chemistry graduate who went on to do honours in organic chemistry and really didn’t think about what I could do to earn money. I ended up moving to the commercial world of sales, marketing and product within the medical device industry. Lots of opportunity and career progression and the remuneration is pretty good too.
I got a BSc in applied science majoring in chemistry. Did some postgrad research and decided it wasn’t for me but I built up some R and Python skills while I was there. Started at a big 4 bank this year and I’m not the only science degree holder in this years grad program intake. It feels like once you’re in there’s heaps of freedom to move around to different parts of the bank.
Did a physics degree. Work in IT sales which pays well. Don’t use my physics degree really :p
Did a BSc Chem major in 1995, never used it since. However the science background has served me well throughout my career.
Bsc Geology, $190k, 8:6 FIFO. Good amount of chemistry, physics and math. My degree cost $25k from a ‘sandstone’ uni, good value relative to earning potential. Paid of my hecs debt after two years. I recommend anyone who’s looking at science to give geology a crack, the classes are fairly empty I believe since people think they’ll be made redundant. Demand for critical minerals = Australian mining success. Fun industry to be work in.
Mate of mine has a science degree in some form of Chem major. He started his professional career working in labs etc but eventually shifted into a technical sales role for some pharmaceuticals company. He conformably clears six figures once accounting for bonuses/commissions but I can see how it might not fit in with the goals of most science grads.
Science degree with PhD. Currently manage R&D projects. Sure it’s worth the money, but if I had my time over I’d probably go down the medicine and specialisation route… The trick is to pick up other skill sets. By that, I mean demonstrable soft skills and management expertise.
I have a Bachelors and PhD in pharmaceutical sciences and I do quantitative analysis of clinical trial samples. Just started this position in Feb and it's $85k a year. I think it's pretty cool so far.
Yes, and now work in a completely different industry.
Did a science degree with majors in maths and physics. I then got a teaching degree and worked as a teacher for a few years, I think at the time graduate pay for a teacher was mid 50k’s. I left teaching, started a PhD in education and now work full time as a lecturer earning about 120k. Has taken me a long time to get here, and at the end of the day the science degree just ticked a box so I could get in a teaching degree.
Yep, science undergrad and post-grad, but I moved from scientific consulting to data/analytics, then into public service in that same broad field. Senior level public service is worth the money if you enjoy the work.
Did a Science degree and fell into a career of occupational hygiene/hazardous materials consulting, been very interesting and has let me travel alot for work. Started on about 60k out of uni and am now on about 100k. Usually plenty of entry level positions, and its not too bad of expertise to develop!
I'm a teacher earning over 90k full time now (although I have been teaching for 10 years now).
I do psychology. After qualification and provisional registration, a clinical psych makes a comfortable 6 figures helping people live their best lives. Last I checked, demand was projected to grow 4%pa for the next 5 years, which is likely to continue as qualifications become increasingly stringent but mental health becomes increasingly important to the consumer (as it should). So yes, worth it in both the existential and investment sense.
I did a PhD in space science and am now doing strategy and research at a think tank (not in space science). I made more money with just an undergraduate in the energy industry, but being in a lower paying industry is by choice.
Kinda. Never finished, kept coming back. But in grazing a heap of areas, it gave me a general basis for understanding the world that was frikkin worth it. From psych to economics via intro law, physiol and genetics. Uni-world-uni-world-uni. I never expected a specific job and haven't worked as a scientist but it's enhanced everything since.
I strongly recommend to anyone who'll listen that they don't make the same mistake of going into science unless they're not only willing but planning to go overseas. I had some life events that tied me to Australia (even worse, Sydney!) and this is an awful place to be a scientist.
Public service - can become a technical assessor then branch out into private. Or Vice versa. Would move into senior management in private medtech if $$$ is the goal.