Hi all, I did post a message about advice before doing MRes/PhD and I've been constantly reading a lot of threads, I think it'd be better if I had the chance to talk to people personally who are currently doing their masters/phds but I cannot. However, I have been asking recruiters (in medical field) for advice and action steps. It boils down to the question as to whether it is worth doing a PhD?

I recently graduated from BSc Biological Sciences with a strong first and I'm interested in pursuing research as a career. However, I've been reading about the possibility of lack of jobs after completing your phD and the constant worry of unstability which is very worrying. I then looked into medical writing as another option and that also requires a PhD. If you have successfully completed a PhD in Cell/Molecular Biology, can you please share your story and any words of advice, I'd greatly appreciate it so I can figure out my next moves. I'm already struggling with a career position for research and I'm currently waiting on offers from universities I've applied for research assistance roles.

If you want to pursue a career in research, then yes.

Otherwise, no.

Hugh forgot to add 'or if you just *want* to' :)

Can you please address everything I've stated in my initial message. I'm trying to find out more information and I do not appreciate sarcastic responses.

not in your field, but to say some general things and to explain the sarcasm: it *is* really dire. also, sarcasm = poor working climate prevalent in academia, you might as well get used to it. search for 'mental health' in this forum and see whether you like what you read. ask yourself whether you want to put yourself through this.
you can likely expect all the unpredictability and worry about instability after the phd for a number of years due to the wonderful short term contracts. also, nepotism is key.
maybe you're better off doing a phd in other countries: netherlands, switzerland, sweden germany, belgium.

I would say don't bother doing a science PhD unless you really want the PhD and are prepared to move across continents multiple times for an academic career or move t certain areas of the country with biotech hubs for industry jobs. If you are, and you can network well and write good publications, you will most likely be ok and will eventually have a job in science. Expect long hours - I work 60 hours a week every week to cover my postdoctoral work and finish the publications from my PhD. Obviously I'm only paid for 35 hours a week. I can do this because I love the work that I do but not everyone does. Postdoctoral pay is 26 to 30 k for the first few years so if you can get this with a graduate job then maybe you should consider that instead.