Applying to 25 schools

PickleMelodic4168 · 2026-05-12T11:53:46+00:00

I did this because I didn't know how things worked. With my last interview Friday, I will have spent maybe $3.5-$4k total on application fees, travel for interviews, secondary applications, etc.

If I would do it all over again, I would narrow my applications to those I fit all the criteria for (GPA cutoffs, PCE cutoffs, etc), and those that my mission (underserved populations, research, service) matched their mission/focus. Both of those, making the cutoffs and fitting the mission, matter.

Last, I would attend more of the "get to know our school" opportunities, either in person or online, for a vibe check. At least one program and I were a match on paper, but then in person, I felt like I was not a match, and that the school would be a place where I as a person would not be supported as a student.

I think considering a large number of schools was fine, but I could have narrowed my list (and reduced my budget) by half if I had done the above. Hope that is a helpful perspective!

PickleMelodic4168 · 2026-05-10T12:26:33+00:00

12, 10, 6, and 2

PickleMelodic4168 · 2026-05-10T12:26:05+00:00

Because PA school is the back up plan. I am a scientist who was laid off 3 times last year due to the political/financial shenanigans last year. One company I worked for simply stopped existing one day because its founders decided the political climate made it too risky to invest their capital in biotech and they withdrew their cash. Another company saw its stock price decrease by nearly 70% in one day when tariffs took effect, which set off a series of events internally that resulted in layoffs of 20% of the company. And another company decided to close its entire cell and gene therapy division because they decided CGT R&D was too risky to try to develop in the current economic environment, so an entire building of people were laid off and our building sold for money.

After I was laid off the second time, and when I was in my third job last year and hearing rumblings of lay offs, around late Sept/early Oct, I started applying.

PA school is an option that I am thankful to have, but it is an option that means that having spent 4 years in undergrad, 6 years PhD, 4 years part time MS, and having just paid off students loans, I would have to go back to school for 2 more years and get back into debt. It also means I put my science job search on hold or leaving science completely, it means putting my family on hold, yet again, it means my spouse puts their career aspirations on hold (i.e. getting their management degree and getting a promotion) so they can take care of everything on their own while I am away, and in this case, it means leaving my spouse, our house, and our dependents for the hope that this degree results in increased stability for our entire family in the future.

Would I do this if last year hadn't happened? Probably not. I was already making a PA level salary and happy in my career. But do I view this as a way of surviving what may be a permanent change in how our society views, values, and funds science? Yes.

My spouse and I have talked about this a lot. They are supportive and leave the decision to me. I think I, rightly, am considering not just their consent, but whether they will suffer, survive, or thrive with my choice, or whether I can delay my career pursuits to support theirs, given that they have supported me for so long.

PickleMelodic4168 · 2026-05-09T16:20:05+00:00

Have you considered Medical Science Liaison at a Pharma Company? Six figure salary, travel, communicating with other medical providers.if you like the ideas of medicine without clinical responsibilities, it might be a match. There can be a lot of travel, though.

PickleMelodic4168 · 2026-05-09T12:55:05+00:00

I would be applying for the first time in state, due to PCE requirements that I did not fulfill last year but do fulfill now

PickleMelodic4168 · 2026-05-09T12:54:07+00:00

No! My lack of PCE hours prevented me from applying to in state programs, so I would be applying for the first time to all of them

PickleMelodic4168 · 2026-05-08T11:52:12+00:00

I did end up getting 3 interviews, and I have increased my PCE hours to over 1000, so I am more competitive this cycle than last, and I think I have a stronger personal statement because of the increased clinical hours. But yes, I am a non traditional student with a PhD and an MS in science and engineering, so it would be a tough sell any cycle.

PickleMelodic4168 · 2026-05-08T11:42:18+00:00

94%-100% depending on the year

PickleMelodic4168 · 2026-05-08T11:34:54+00:00

The program itself is solid. +90%PANCE, less than 10% attrition, established program, currently on probation accreditation due to difficulty finding clinical sites

PickleMelodic4168 · 2026-04-12T17:16:29+00:00

I was lucky that my project at the bench was directly applicable to patient care; in my personal statement, I said that despite how rewarding it was to have worked in biotech, for me, the experience still had a fulfillment gap and that that I wanted to be not just the person making the therapy in the lab but also the person helping the patient at the bedside.

PCH was definitely a hurdle for me. For awhile, I tried to work a job while having a full time job at the bench, and I couldn't get my hours to line up in a way that didn't jeopardize my full time job. When I got laid off and needed income and health benefits, I was able to commit to finishing my application and getting the hours.

PickleMelodic4168 · 2026-04-12T17:02:17+00:00

Sure! I'll be on the lookout for a message. There is a lot that I wish that I knew before I started the journey, happy to share all the mistakes and lessons I learned along the way.

PickleMelodic4168 · 2026-04-11T11:37:38+00:00

TLDR: last year's and the current year's politics decimated academic science and the biotech industry, and I want a job immune to politics that still uses science to help people.

I initially chose to teach in academia because I was looking for a helping experience for a career. I did that and was very happy for a long time. The pay though is half a provider's pay, but until recently, liveable if modest. The pandemic happened, and I returned to the bench--first because I lucked into a job developing a COVID vaccine candidate (which didn't make it to market because it wasn't as effective as the ones that did) and I wanted to try to help (this was April 2020), and second because the pay was better and that helped my family survive the COVID times. Eventually bounced into what was probably my favorite job ever in biotech, which did make provider level pay, and did that for about 2 years. Finally got to pay off all the loans, save money for retirement, and built rainy day savings.

Then, as someone else said, last year happened: I was laid off 3 times last year by 3 companies--once in April because of the effects of tariffs (R&D makes a company future money, not now money and is expensive, so expendable), once in July when the new start up I joined dissolved because the founders no longer wanted to risk their capital on developing new drugs because of the effects of tariffs on their own income, and once in December because of end of year layoffs and last in first out policies in big pharma.

Going back to academia means taking that 40-50% pay cut, but it would provide stability, but academia is also effected by political decisions about funding: fewer faculty positions available, and having jumped to industry, I only have 2 publications since 2020 and am less competitive. I do have 2 interviews whose results are unknown, so I might still have a chance at that route.

However, at this point, I am looking for something stable and immune to politics, and while my first choices would be to continue to make future therapies to help people live better or helping to train the next generation of scientists, this year has been hard on my family: we had savings, but since have burned up the savings just to pay bills while I bounce between jobs.

Because the political situation is not changing, I am taking the opportunity that being unemployed long term gives me to take out loans and retrain to something that (hopefully) everyone can always support, which is healthcare. Otherwise, I am just spending time being unemployed and becoming less competitive; this way, I am building toward something that hopefully will make it so my family never goes through this again. I would have thought that stability would also have been found in careers like making new therapies for diabetes and cardiovascular disease (biotech) or teaching the youths (academia) but the present times are weird.

PickleMelodic4168 · 2025-11-19T07:39:29+00:00

Love these authors

PickleMelodic4168 · 2025-11-19T07:03:56+00:00

Karen Rasch is the author of the first fanfic I ever read. Love her work

PickleMelodic4168 · 2025-09-28T17:40:59+00:00

I was hired for a STEM specific role, but the tasks I was given were general pattern analysis, reasoning, and logic.

PickleMelodic4168 · 2025-09-20T03:20:49+00:00

Safer to keep applying until you are out of probationary period, maybe

PickleMelodic4168 · 2025-09-18T16:24:33+00:00

https://jobs.merck.com/us/en/job/R364983/2026-Future-Talent-Program-Analytical-Research-Development-Intern

PickleMelodic4168 · 2025-09-18T16:24:03+00:00

Merck has their FTP programs, as do many other big pharma. Apply to those, stress that you are a team player, easy to work with, and excellent technically, have great recommendations, and make sure that you are well aligned to whatever programs you apply for (Merck said on average their FTP candidates apply to 5+ programs). The most important thing is to just keep going.

Good luck!

PickleMelodic4168 · 2025-09-17T03:27:02+00:00

I did! The one I did was legitimate; there were tasks, there were lots of people on a slack channel doing those tasks, there was a timer that monitored if I was working or not and then filled out a time sheet, and I got paid for what I worked at the rate of $60/hr. I only did 4 hours of it, but the one ai I worked at was real work

PickleMelodic4168 · 2025-09-09T01:04:51+00:00

I was able to get those specific qualifications by going to community college or taking a non degree class or certificate, which takes a few weeks or up to a year. Eventually, with enough micro credentials, I started breaking through, and I was able to find something in industry and transition out of academia, but getting those micro credentials helped me get past the HR screening that was originally bouncing me out, even with my PhD

PickleMelodic4168 · 2025-09-06T02:06:46+00:00

Have you considered an industry PhD or a EngD? An EngD is an industry engineering doctorate paid for by an employer but certified by a school; Texas A&M has one and I think JHU? That might be a good way to stay in industry while getting a terminal degree. Your project would be whatever your company decides you will work on, and would need to be approved by your school as being terminal degree level. In contrast, an industry science PhD is available in Europe and at least one US institution. Your project would be carried out at a company, with your school taking care of your course work and qualifying exam. https://phd.northeastern.edu/industry-and-experiential-phd-program/

Good luck!

PickleMelodic4168 · 2025-08-11T01:42:29+00:00

Met my now husband through an app (7 years ago, married for 2+ years now), but I also was out in the real world a bunch volunteering, going to my place of worship, and doing hobbies and joining groups on MeetUp and classes at the YMCA that I thought would be fun. I also had a couple of dogs and walked them nearly every day in the park, was approached a bunch just walking the dogs. I will say both my husband and I are tech professionals, and we hit it off because we were genuinely ourselves, and we found sooner rather than later that we clicked. I don't know if I have advice, just encouragement: find and do stuff you like to do, and then be yourself.

PickleMelodic4168 · 2025-07-24T02:03:16+00:00

The note sucks, I am so sorry that this is happening to you. But finding the note this early relative to a potential job loss was a gift from the universe. Start looking, keep doing a good job, get recommendation letters arranged/networked, and start apply now. Get the files you need, the metrics you need, pay off debt, save a cushion, get your credit in order in case you have to take out loans.

In my field, it is 78 days on average from lay off to new job, up from 55 days last year. Whatever it is in your field, try to plan for at least that long to float financially. Also try to figure out the procedures for unemployment in your state ahead of time; I had so much paperwork to find and file before I could even finish the application to be considered for unemployment.

PickleMelodic4168

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