Reply to Accepting a job that requires only a bachelors degree when you have a PhD

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Taking a bachelor's level job after a PhD can be bad for your career (even if the salary difference is smaller--like a bachelor's level job vs. a postdoc) because it signals to an employer that you don't value the autonomy and potential for growth that comes with a PhD and that you are desperate.  If you take the job in Redwood City, yes the COL is high, but you would be more able to move to another PhD-level job later on in another location than if you took a bachelor's level job.  Also 150K, even in California, is good money and you will be fine, provided you have appropriate expectations for housing in a high COL area.[/quote]
But what if it's temporary? For maybe 1-2 years to get job experience. We really like the city in Florida. It's a good place to raise a family. [/quote]
I posted (somewhat harshly) above, and this clarifies things a lot. If you are good at what you do, you will get a lot of latitude. Ultimately, a job is one element of your life. If you think you will be much happier in FL than CA, that matters. The two locations are quite different.

In general, I think if you take a job that doesn't require your degree, the impact on your longterm career prospects really depends on the job. If it's a job that's otherwise competitive and develops other skills, it might make sense. Or if it's a job that technically only requires a bachelors, but advanced degrees are strongly preferred (to the point where you pretty much can't get the job without one). But if you want a job that requires a PhD in your subject after this one, it will be extremely problematic that you don't have any actual work experience that utilizes your PhD-level technical skills. If you were in a different STEM field, I would advise a post-doc as a way of establishing your credentials separate from your PhD work, but I know that those are pretty uncommon for statisticians.

If you're starting a Fed job at $86K, that suggests to me you're coming in as a GS-12, which is usually for new PhDs. That might be an indication that PhDs are preferred for this job, since they are willing to bring you in at that level (they would not if they really only need a BS level of skills). Without more details about the positions and your long-term interests, it's really hard to say what's right for you.[/quote]

This job is not a fed job. The company ( Heath insurance) works for the government on contracts.  I'd rather work for a pharmaceutical company as this is related to my degree in bio statistics. [/quote]

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