u/brigittenjose

Hello everyone reading this,

I’m reaching the end of my second year of a Master’s in Biomedical Sciences in Belgium, and I’m 23 years old. For a long time, I’ve been thinking about whether I should start a PhD or not. My current idea is to work for 2–3 years first to gain some professional experience, and then see afterward if I still want to pursue a PhD. So my plan was to spend this summer looking for jobs before making that decision. However, I’m starting to wonder if this is actually the best strategy.

To be honest, I’m not really sure what I should do. Of course, I know it’s important to do something we truly enjoy, and I genuinely love research. At the same time, I’ve also been interested in dentistry for a while, but I honestly don’t know if it still makes sense to start such a long path now, especially knowing there is an entrance exam in my country.

I’m also wondering whether moving abroad could be a better option if other countries offer more interesting opportunities in research, career progression, or quality of life overall. Another thing I think about a lot is financial stability and whether some paths make it harder to build a comfortable life later on.

Well, as you can probably tell, I’m still trying to figure myself out, which is why I’m really interested in hearing about other people’s experiences and advice. And sorry if what I’m saying sounds a bit inconsistent or all over the place.

Thank you for reading!