MS vs. PhD

[mdstud]

Hi,

I am in the MS biostatistics program and I also have a MS in biomedical engineering. I understand getting a PhD in biostatistics would be more rewarding and natural if I wish to develop a career in academics. However, considering the tight NIH funding situation and less success in grant applications, if I opt for healthcare industry (pharma, medical devices, health insurance, kaiser, etc) would getting a PhD be more useful in terms of salary and position? Does almost a decade of work experience with double masters be equally marketable?

[milam1186]

I suppose that depends on what kind of position you want. A lot of government organizations treat years of experience with master's degrees as equivalent to a PhD. I cannot really speak for private companies as I've never looked into that and only have connections to people with government and academic positions. I would think that experience is just as good as a PhD to companies, but that is just conjecture.