MD vs. PhD | Which Path to Take? (Income, Stats & Personal Experience) – Stephanie Buttermore

by YouTube Team

Get your free month of The Great Courses Plus at

The Great Courses Plus is currently available to watch through a web browser to almost anyone in the world and optimized for the US market. The Great Courses Plus is currently working to both optimize the product globally and accept credit card payments globally.

They’ve recently audio streaming! This new feature allows you to move back and forth between audio and video without missing a word. Use audio streaming to learn through listening, but enjoy the freedom of switching over to video to gain visual context whenever you need it, without interrupting your experience.

I really hope you enjoy this video! Let me know if you like academic-focused video! Much love!! xoxox

This video was sponsored by The Great Courses Plus BUT all of my thoughts and opinions are my own. Sponsorships allow me to continue to create content for you that you I believe adds value to this community.

Please Subscribe!

▹Time Stamps:

‣Description: 2:14
‣What do you do after?: 4:35
‣Average Cost: 5:23
‣Average Debt: 6:09
‣Average Income: 7:13
‣Job Success Rate: 8:28
‣My Personal Opinion: 10:08

——————————-
My Last Video▹

▹Study Tips/ Back Training‣

——————————-
Recommended Videos▹

▹Life after my PhD‣

▹How I got my PhD‣

▹How Much did my PhD Cost? ‣

——————————-
FOLLOW ME ▹

INSTAGRAM ‣
SNAPCHAT ‣
FACEBOOK ‣

JEFF’S INSTAGRAM ‣
JEFF’S CHANNEL ‣

——————————-
CONTACT ME ▹

BUSINESS ONLY EMAIL: sbuttermore25@gmail.com

——————————-
FAQs ▹

1.What is your ethnicity?
‣ Mom is Thai and Dad is Canadian..Eh?
2. How tall are you?
‣ 5’4″
3. How old are you?
‣ 27
3. What are you researching?
‣ Watch my PhD Day in the life video ▹
4. Is Jeff my boyfriend?
‣ Duh
5. Is that your real hair?
‣ Yes
___
AYOOO!! My name is Stephanie Buttermore and in a few words I am a fitness enthusiast but a scientist at heart!

Just obtained my Ph.D. in pathology and cell biology with a research focus on the molecular mechanisms that drive ovarian cancer progression. Hope you stick around! xoxo

source

Related Articles

Leave a Comment

27 comments

Stephanie Buttermore December 1, 2017 - 1:55 am

What is up my friends?! I hope you enjoyed this video! Let me know if you like academic videos and let me know if you are in university right now making professional school decisions! I have a chest/shoulders workout video coming next 🙂 Much love! xoxo

Reply
Sara May 31, 2020 - 10:45 pm

PhD. I love biology🤓

Reply
siob June 2, 2020 - 7:45 am

I want to become an Anesthesiology, but I want to discover about cure cancer and such. I'm in my second year of Medical Technology Sciences btw

Reply
Kelsey Kiernan June 11, 2020 - 3:46 pm

"If you love science and are NOT a people person, they do a PhD" 😂

As a PhD student in infectious disease and outbreak detection… I can fully appreciate this statement and I find myself saying it too often whenever I think could've made more money as an MD 💸😂

Reply
Biscuit89 August 3, 2020 - 1:48 am

What about if you're a MD/PHD?

Reply
Max DV Moon August 6, 2020 - 2:05 pm

I am not a people person and I somewhat kinda likes research too but I don't really think I'm smart enough to have a PhD. Not to mention that it has a low rate of employment. I want to be an MD but I'm not really fond of people. I like to help people and I also love mind challenging things and I think both of them has it but I'm still stuck.

Reply
Ethereal429 August 7, 2020 - 6:10 am

There's so much biology out there that isn't medical based! Don't forget us ecologists!

Reply
Jordiana Charles August 9, 2020 - 3:47 am

OH. MY. GOSH!!! I can not thank you enough. Thank you so much for the in depth information. Thank you for data and personal opinion. Knowing how someone who’s actually participated in this, makes it easier for me to decide. I truly appreciate it. I’ll definitely be adding this to my playlist!! BE BLESSED!!😘😘

Reply
Andreas Habring August 12, 2020 - 9:04 am

I am so sorry for US's education system. Getting into so much debt for your education is so shitty 🙁

Reply
Dakarai August 17, 2020 - 7:03 am

As an engineering PhD the numbers there look more uh positive .

Reply
Jose Carde August 25, 2020 - 12:47 pm

Stephanie what kind of video editor platform do you use for this video? Thank you!

Reply
Aruzhan Myrzatayeva September 10, 2020 - 9:25 am

Someone please help me! Currently I am at senior year of Medicine bachelor. Where am I eligible to apply to Masters? I was thinking about biomedical engineering, but turns out I’d have to do it from scratch…

Reply
Aoods September 16, 2020 - 1:43 am

Nice Video

Reply
Thor September 28, 2020 - 2:50 pm

Stephanie, MD's don't "treat and prevent disease", not even close! They merely suppress symptoms with drugs.

They keep the fire contained to one room instead of putting it out.

Reply
philaman1972 October 14, 2020 - 8:12 pm

Beautifully presented and summarized. Both MD and PhD programs are rigorous. If one is completely going to grad/med school purely for the financial payoff, I would agree that the MD route is the best to take. I know a guy who has an MD/DMD and is an oral surgeon, works in a group of 4, and makes really good money (400-500k/year, so he tells me).

Reply
Aneena Varghese December 9, 2020 - 6:33 am

Ma'am, can do MD after completing my B Tech biomedical engineerig …

Reply
Nick Gravina December 28, 2020 - 11:32 pm

PhD is so broad though that I feel that can skew the numbers. Getting a PhD in molecular bio or biomed engineering could land you a great job in the quickly developing biotech industry in developing medications and whatnot. But getting a PhD in a less popular and less lucrative subject (like western art or something idk) would drag those PhD averages down. I guess what I’m eluding to with the MD vs PhD is that it’s more apples to oranges than it would originally appear. Hopefully that makes sense…I’d really like to get your thoughts on this and if this came up when doing research for this video.

Reply
Hope Lopez February 17, 2021 - 4:20 am

this is so helpful!

Reply
idowannafellasleep March 21, 2021 - 5:40 pm

fuck yea i want phd
god help me

Reply
Deanne Pearl Nacar March 28, 2021 - 9:48 am

Thank you for this insight … 'twas super helpful

Reply
Katherine Pitts May 24, 2021 - 3:33 pm

Thinking about getting EdD myself. Getting ready to apply. These videos make me feel better although I am 3 years late.

Reply
Blanca Garcia May 30, 2021 - 1:39 pm

As a future PhD and professional student I wanted to know where you got all your information because it seems to me like it's all opinion. I would have said something like this is just all my opinion and I've stated as something that's actual because it will be a turn-off to someone that's trying to go on further to learning. As a mentor and as a minority I could tell you one thing that it doesn't make sense what you're saying because I have noticed that it's not based on what kind of education you have it's based on your Innovation as a person and how much you're willing to sacrifice and commit yourself to making it periods people make generalizations all the time but is up to the person to decide what they're going to do and where they're getting their resources or how their marketing themselves to make it. And about income there's been numerous amount of people that didn't go to school or if they did go to school they decide what they want to do and they could take it as far as they want so it doesn't make sense on where you got your figures and you didn't really stay where you got them so it just doesn't make any sense what you've been talkin about. I'm also aware that a lot of times you'll get to wear your want because of your looks but one day they fade and it's up to you and your knowledge and what you've established yourself for as in a career-wise and your type of Lifestyle. No one could really dictate what you're going to do or what who you're going to be because in the long run it's what you choose to do and become in life.

Reply
SimplyLyzzie September 12, 2021 - 4:02 am

Great video, informative and helpful. You mentioned that you have multiple master degrees, may I ask what are they? I also hold multiple master degrees and I am considering getting my PhD.

Reply
Elizabeth Aguilar Machuca October 2, 2021 - 10:10 pm

Very very helpful! I am currently an international medical graduate (IMG), I also have studied biotechnology. I have been struggling between a clinical path and research because I like both. Maybe someday I obtain a Ph.D., but after you clarifying me some things, I'll try to match into residency, and if I can't, I have 2 master's degrees in my mind.

Reply
Adrian Ducao December 24, 2021 - 8:06 am

In my country student debt is non-existent

Reply
LRB9498 January 10, 2022 - 3:31 am

This video was fantastic and I plan to show it to every STEM student I mentor! I have a PhD in neuroscience and went straight from grad school to a non-reseach role in industry (minus a year or to of contract work…). I knew I always wanted to work in pharma and when I was in grad school I saw how grim it was for my friends who wanted to pursue a path in academia. One thing I would recommend is that if you ever do a future video on this topic to look at those who pursue a PharmD. I wish I had known more about this option when I was an undergrad. I thought being a PharmD meant you were stuck at CVS for the rest of your life but PharmD's are highly sought after in industry. Also, your estimates for what a PhD makes in industry for a salary are really on the low side, especially if you factor in bonuses and stock options. Love your videos!!!!

Reply
Adam Banda January 20, 2022 - 9:47 pm

I don't normally comment on youtube videos but as a failed Ph.D. student, I feel compelled to comment. I hate comparisons between an M.D. and a Ph.D. in biomedical sciences. I understand that the two often work together and most Ph.D. programs in biomedical sciences work out of medical schools or are assigned to medical schools. However, the two vary greatly in terms of employability, salary, and duties.

One thing to keep in mind is an M.D. can do biomedical research (Ph.D. type research). A quick google search of the top medical research universities in the United States confirms many M.Ds do in fact have labs and do biomedical research in addition to their clinical duties. The real difference is that a Ph.D. can NEVER have clinical duties for obvious reasons. Many Ph.D. students even are assigned to M.Ds as I was when I was a graduate student. Even to further complicate matters, PharmDs, DDS, and DVMs also are capable of having biomedical research labs. It makes one wonder why to pursue a Ph.D. at all if there are alternatives to pursuing biomedical research as a career but I guess there are other reasons.

I've been to enough career seminars where people try to compare pathways between an MD or Ph.D. and all I can say is you simply can't or shouldn't. The two degrees are not on an equal playing field. I'm sorta hand waving, if not outright ignoring the elephant in the room but it has more to do with me trying to not have a "wall-of-text."

The last thing I want to mention is the job market for PhDs in the life sciences is absolutely atrocious and has been for some time with it getting steadily worse. The short answer is that there are far too many PhDs in the job market than there jobs. If you're not crushing it in graduate school with publications in Nature and Cell, I think you'll find yourself doing the eternal post-doc for a good part of your career/life until you can find a better-paying position. You should also keep in mind that salaries in post-docs can vary wildly and are nowhere near close to what an M.D. will earn after they complete a residency program. I can't really speak about the industry but I heard it's even harder to get into the industry than it is to get a postdoc at a top-tier institution.

Tl;DR, Even though you shouldn't compare the two, I recommend doing an M.D. over a Ph.D. for the simple fact that an M.D. can do biomedical research just as well as a Ph.D.

Reply