I'm currently doing my Masters and I am thinking about fast-tracking to PhD. I am quite certain in the end, I want to go into industry (I'm in the biocomputing field).
What I am wondering is: does your PhD subject define what you do later on life? Are you limited to pretty much that specific narrow field, or could you still get a job in a different area (that is still somewhat relevant)?

I'm sure I read somewhere that only about 60-70% of people with PhD's end up in the field they studied!  If you're studying something so narrow the chance of a job with the same topics is rare, so I guess most people end up with jobs that are 'somewhat relevant'.

Following threads on this forum of people who have recently gained their PhD's leads me to believe that industry jobs often believe you are over qualified if you have a PhD, I guess it depends on your field as all fields would be different. Snoop around on the websites of companies in your field and see if they have staff profiles, it may show you if the staff have PhD's which may let you know if it is worth you spending 3-4 years on a PhD?

Also how do you 'fast-track' to a PhD?  I haven't heard that term before?

Thanks for the reply! I'll snoop more around for info.
By fast-track, i mean some universities, especially in Canada, often allow people in Master to jump directly to PhD without completing the Master. It's supposed to save time for people who know they want to get PhD and want to avoid the trouble of spending the extra years to get a Master

I see, I don't think they have that here in the UK, most PhD's are so competitive that you need a masters to get one.

Good luck with your search!

It is possible to go straight from Undergrad to PhD - I know a few people who did.

Ah yeah, I know quite a lot of people who got into a PhD without a masters although that was a few years ago when it was less competitive. I just meant I don't think you can do half a masters and get a fasttrack type thing here. Although our masters are only a year, I know they are longer in other countries, maybe that makes a difference.