Hello!
I am in the middle of applying to PhD programs for immunology/infectious disease, and I had a harrowing conversation with my research advisor today. She said that immunology is extremely expensive, competitive, difficult to acquire meaningful results in, and considered by some to have already peaked/past its golden age. She herself is trying to switch fields.

Granted, I work in allergy studies (a small branch of immunology) but this statement from a reliable resource merits some consideration leap into 5-6 year commitment that not even the head of my laboratory will endorse. I was wondering if anyone had any career advice. Specifically:

What are the most competitive fields of biology?
What are the most well-funded fields in biology?
Any immunologists (ore people in related fields like microbiology, virology or infectious disease studies) care to defend the field as “not dead yet”?

Any and all feedback is appreciated.