Hey folks!
I am about to finish my master in marine biology (with background in conservation and bioinformatics as well) and want to know something:
Did you find it possible to find technician positions after your master degree? Or is it the golden rule to procede with a phd and get postdoc positions afterwards.
Also - are there any chances to get into teaching later? I'm talking about applied research (laboratory), but would also be interested in the outlooks on conservation work. Let me know about your experiences and opinions and please also state in which country you might have made those as that differs a lot of course.
Hi Maria, yes, there are technician positions open for candidates with only master degree. But in general, these are temporary contracts. Most of them associated to research projects or specific institutional funding budget. Permanent technician positions are mostly filled by candidades with PhD degree, which in general possess stronger curriculum in comparison to the ones with MSc. degree. I think this is the scene in most of the western-central Europe and north-south American countries, but there are local differences and less developed places may offer more chances to a MSc. to get a position although with worst working conditions.
This actually varies a lot, depending not only on the country but also on each particular institution. Some places, like unis and museums, might indeed prefer to hire technicians with PhD degrees, but that is not a rule.
For instance, many research institutions will never hire someone with a PhD as a technician, as they are considered over-qualified for the job and would mean more expenditure in salary.
Unfortunately, there is no golden rule and there are examples of all sorts of cases. But one thing is certain: you can always get into teaching somehow. (You may not be able to supervise student projects, though, again depending on the institution.)
My suggestion for you is that try to complete your PhD in European/US countries along with a decent stipendary-fellowship.
Then you will get an idea where to work either in academic or in industry.
All the best!!!
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