3 answers
Benjamin
Student
Zimmerman, Minnesota
3
Questions
Asked
1043 views
How difficult is it to obtain a job as a researcher for a cure for cancer?
I am aware such a job may be a little far-fetched, however, I want to know just how difficult it is to get into such a field of work. I also was wondering what kind of pay and work conditions would accompany such a job. Thank you for your time. #job #career #job-search #science #biology
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3 answers
David Weinstein, MD, PhD
Physician/Scientist
8
Answers
Dobbs Ferry, New York
Updated
David’s Answer
If you will allow me, I would like to reframe your question a bit. It is not finding a job that is very hard (one you have an advanced degree, as noted above). The steps offered by Dr. Dominguez are sound. in my opinion the question is "why you want to be a scientist?"
1. First, and foremost, this is a tough career. There are lots of dead ends and frustrations. Most experiments "fail". I always stress to students, residents and fellows that failures teach you many things, besides learning to fail. These include making you ask: is this the right question? Was this the right experimental design to answer the question that I want to address? Can I turn the data that I have in its side to learn something about the system that I had not considered before? Did I screw up technically?
2. Science is seldom linear. This means, your mind as to be open to what the data are telling you. You start out saying I want to find a way to understand x disease, but your data may lead you way far in another direction. Please note that I said "understand" not "cure". It is very hard to cure what you don't understand. An example from my life might illustrate this point. I started my career SURE that I wanted to be a tropical medicine doctor, I set out that way- and studied aspects of immunology in leprosy. The data, and my patients pushed me to think about the nervous system (yes, leprosy still is a problem, and it is fundamentally a disease of the peripheral nerves). This led me to become a neurologist, and the lessons I learned from my patients and the data made me think about similar processes in other diseases, like multiple sclerosis and Guillain-Barre syndrome.
The take-home message is scientists MUST keep and open mind. Drinking the KoolAid (dogma) will close off avenues that you might find interesting.
This is a long winded answer to a not so simple question.
1. First, and foremost, this is a tough career. There are lots of dead ends and frustrations. Most experiments "fail". I always stress to students, residents and fellows that failures teach you many things, besides learning to fail. These include making you ask: is this the right question? Was this the right experimental design to answer the question that I want to address? Can I turn the data that I have in its side to learn something about the system that I had not considered before? Did I screw up technically?
2. Science is seldom linear. This means, your mind as to be open to what the data are telling you. You start out saying I want to find a way to understand x disease, but your data may lead you way far in another direction. Please note that I said "understand" not "cure". It is very hard to cure what you don't understand. An example from my life might illustrate this point. I started my career SURE that I wanted to be a tropical medicine doctor, I set out that way- and studied aspects of immunology in leprosy. The data, and my patients pushed me to think about the nervous system (yes, leprosy still is a problem, and it is fundamentally a disease of the peripheral nerves). This led me to become a neurologist, and the lessons I learned from my patients and the data made me think about similar processes in other diseases, like multiple sclerosis and Guillain-Barre syndrome.
The take-home message is scientists MUST keep and open mind. Drinking the KoolAid (dogma) will close off avenues that you might find interesting.
This is a long winded answer to a not so simple question.
Enrique Dominguez
Director
4
Answers
Austin, Texas
Updated
Enrique’s Answer
This is a great questions because it is not as far-fetched as you may think. Many individuals consider this type of career and I would suggest getting into it by first becoming an undergraduate research assistant so you can test it out to see if it is what you like doing. To become an undergraduate research assistant, you first need to be interested in this field by applying to a college/university with a major that will help you understand the science behind cancer. There are many majors to choose from like biology, biomedical engineering, etc. so look into which major would interest you best. This undergraduate degree will help create the foundation of knowledge you need when you start doing your research. This is important because then you will understand the problem you are trying to solve or investigate. At the college/university, you can find other faculty/professors who are doing research related to the cancer topic. Find out more about those specific researchers and ask if you can be apart of their team. College or undergraduate students do this all the time and its a great way to apply what they are learning in their college classes to actual real life practice. When you find a research topic you like and join that group, you can then learn from others whose interests are the same as your own. These research teams often are made of other older undergraduate students, graduate students, faculty/professors, and post-doctoral researchers as well. If you enjoy this research, you can grow with this group as you progress with your knowledge. You can choose to be an expert in this field by pursing a Masters and PhD degree and then you can choose a career path either through academic institutions like universities or go into a company where they do R&D (Research and Development) on the topic you enjoy. Below I will suggest some broad milestones that is related to this topic. Good luck and if you have the passion for this, please pursue it!
Choose and apply to a University/College that has the major of your interest
Find a Faculty/Professor doing research in this area and ask to join their team
Learn from others in the field of study and grow in you own knowledge
Follow your passion and purse a higher degree such as a Masters or PhD
Choose a career path of Academia or Corporate R & D because both are jobs related to research - Good Luck!
Enrique recommends the following next steps:
I appreciate this, thank you for the advice.
Benjamin
sumani rameshwaram
Senior Software Engineer
3
Answers
Lone Tree, Colorado
Updated
sumani’s Answer
There is nothing difficult to do or obtain if you are passionate towards your goals and have a determination to achieve it!
A job like a cancer researcher necessitates a high level of education, including a Ph.D. in cancer research and, if necessary, an M.D. Because they do a lot of writing and fieldwork, they need to be good at data analysis, critical reasoning, and observations.
Applicants for some research posts may be required to have medical degrees instead of or in addition to PhD degrees. To undertake some medical operations on human research subjects, cancer researchers may consider earning medical degrees and license as physicians.
Considering all above requirements to become a cancer researcher one must have patience to finish all higher degree educational requirements that takes lot of time.
Good luck for your future endeavors!
A job like a cancer researcher necessitates a high level of education, including a Ph.D. in cancer research and, if necessary, an M.D. Because they do a lot of writing and fieldwork, they need to be good at data analysis, critical reasoning, and observations.
Applicants for some research posts may be required to have medical degrees instead of or in addition to PhD degrees. To undertake some medical operations on human research subjects, cancer researchers may consider earning medical degrees and license as physicians.
Considering all above requirements to become a cancer researcher one must have patience to finish all higher degree educational requirements that takes lot of time.
Good luck for your future endeavors!
Thank you for taking the time to help.
Benjamin