PhD or applied PhD?

[avhosa]

My story: I have interviews at three different PhD programs, one of which is an Applied Plant Sciences program, and the other two Genetics programs. Ultimately, I am interested in working in the plant breeding industry and do not have any plans on staying in academia after my PhD if I can help it (I realize that a post-doc may be necessary, but I'd rather not do one). The reason I applied to Genetics programs in the other schools is because there were enough faculty in their Genetics department who's research I was interested in (i.e. plant genetics/genomics) so I figured I'd leave my options open and get a "general" Genetics PhD in these schools. Also, the Genetics programs offer better stipends in the schools I applied to.

I'm not wholly averse to working in academia after my PhD, particularly if the economy picks up in the next 5 years and the market for academic jobs isn't as hopelessly grim as it currently is, but I intend to prepare myself for industry as much as I can in grad school because that's probably where I'm going to end up. So here's my question: should I attend the Applied Plant Sciences program or the more general Genetics program? Will earning an applied PhD totally kill my chances for getting a job if I decided I wanted to teach after my PhD, say, at a community college? If the applied degree is preferable, is the smaller stipend (~$5K less) worth it?

[emmm]

I don't think the type of PhD would affect your suitability for community college positions one way or the other.