scientificallycurious

I graduated in May 2017 with a B.S. in Microbiology in Texas and got accepted into a PhD program in Microbiology in Michigan. Before graduating, I had decided that I definitely DID NOT want to go into academia, I want to work in industry. During my senior year I was debating whether I should go for my Masters or PhD. I had heard that you cannot keep climbing up the job ladder in industry with just a Masters, and that you would eventually would need to go back to school and get a PhD if you wanted to get to the top positions. I talked to a family member who only got a B.S. and started working in biotech straight away and she told me that from her experience, friends who had PhDs actually found it harder to find jobs in biotech than did her friends who only had Masters and years of experience. So my original plan was that I would go for my Masters, then go work at a biotech for some years and if it seemed like I needed a PhD then I would go back to school. My plan changed when some of my professors told me that I should just go ahead and apply for the PhD anyways because my original plan would take too many years to complete if I did end up wanting a PhD. They told me that I would be the safest by just dong my PhD straight after my BS, especially since (they said) it is very hard to go back to school once you have been in the workforce for some years. I had done undergraduate research and I liked being in the lab and doing benchwork and working towards a project. I thought to myself, "I should just give PhD a try, even if it isn't what I had originally planned." The thought of going into debt to get my Masters was also discouraging, and I thought PhD would give me better job opportunities in industry. So when I got accepted into a PhD program I was ecstatic and I accepted right away. ...... Now here is a bit of background on my personal life: I don't have a good relationship with my family. My only support was my boyfriend (now my husband) and my two good friends. When my now husband knew that I got accepted to a program in Michigan he was completely happy for me. At that time he was working on starting up his own company so he told me that as soon as he got things worked out in Texas he would move with me to Michigan ( he estimated around 6 months). We had been a long distance relationship from the beginning because we lived in different cities (we only saw each other twice a month during weekends), so I thought me moving to Michigan wouldn't be a big deal for us. .... Fast forward 6 months... turns out he would need a year in order to move to Michigan with me.... Fast forward to a month ago: I went back to Texas and we got married (happiest days of my life), but then it turns out he won't be able to move in with me at all. Or if he does, it would probably be another 3-4 years which by that time I would be almost done with my PhD. Coming back to Michigan after we got married was the hardest thing I ever had to endure emotionally. I was depressed (still am) and that made me lose motivation in my work although my professor is amazing and I love the lab. What made it worse is that after looking back at some of the research I have done over the past few months and last few days, it seems as though maybe getting a PhD is not worth it for me. I talked with many other people in past few months and it seems as though you can still get into top industry positions with just a masters and 5-8 years of experience. It started to seem like a PhD was not a total requirement to get into top industry positions as I had previously thought. And that had been my biggest reason why I decided to go after the PhD in the first place. Now, I don't feel like I have good enough reasons to continue my PhD and endure the emotional pain of not seeing my husband (I literally only saw him 3 times in the past year). Besides, I'm starting to think that maybe Masters industry positions are a better fit for me anyways. I love benchwork (something I hear M.S. students that are in the PhD program complain about: that they hated having to do benchwork all the time and that they wanted to be in charge of research, therefore, they decided to go for their PhD). I do like research, but I am not completely passionate about it. I think I am more passionate about learning new things in science, and I have read that loving science and loving research are two different things. I am afraid that maybe PhD positions in industry are more managerial type positions (like being a PI, but in an industry environment) and I wouldn't like that. I want to be able to be in the lab, doing wet work every day, working in a team, and it seems like those kinds of positions in industry only require a Masters and a PhD would be overkill for those type of positions. I think I am 90% convinced that Masters is a better idea for me. #1, it seems as though maybe Master job titles would be a better fit for me anyways #2, I don't think I'll be able to endure the stressors of a PhD PLUS the emotional stress of being away from my husband and best friends back in Texas. I have barely completed the first year of my PhD and I got accepted into a permanent lab this past May. How can I start the conversation with my PI? I feel like I am going to let him down. When is it possible to get a Masters during a PhD program? Before or after PreLim? I would feel bad pretending like I am going to finish my PhD, but then quit after passing my prelim. Would I automatically lose funding once I declare that I don't want to finish my PhD? Should I just quit altogether now, go back to Texas right away and apply for a M.S. Biotechnology program for next Fall? Any advice would be appreciated... thanks.