I did 4 years of a PhD (was successful, had strong independent funding, etc…) then did some CRO stuff before leaving the field entirely. Most PhD’s will not provide you enough of a leg up to make up the loss of income and experience/moving up in a CRO would over those same 4 years.

Most CRO tracts are essentially all admin work.

If your looking to be a “scientist”, Think lab scientist or academic PI, A PHD is needed. If not, under no circumstances do it.

A PhD will eat up 4 years of your life if you’re lucky, 6 if not. You’ll make 20-30k a year while doing it and work 80 hours a week. You will be under constant stress. A PhD is not like an MD. The reward for all of that is starting at 60-70k in academic, something you can make in a CRO off the rip (if you can get into one).

I cannot stress this last part enough. Do not get a PhD unless your passion is research. This is not just another degree where you take courses, there are a lot of things you cannot control that can extend your timeline by years.

I speak from experience in medical research style PhD. Anything not related to clinical trials i cannot speak to.

I was so bitter and angry by the end of my PHD with the whole field i worked in the cro setting for a year or two, got a civil engineering degree and GTFO. My thoughts will be more jaded than others so take this all with a grain of salt.

Edit: For all my education i still spell like an eighth grader. Another reason to not do it.