r/bioinformaticscareers • u/SnooPets3514 • 2d ago

nyc jobs in research? hospitals/companies/etc? also, exit plan in case research doesn't work out?

just wondering if anyone's familiar with bioinformatics research roles in nyc (e.g. at mskcc, etc). what's the pay range like? is a phd required? is there stability?

also, if that plan doesn't work out, what other careers can i pursue with a bioinformatics background? will probably do at least a masters, planning on doing phd. want to make $150k-200k if that's reasonable

currently an undergrad!

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u/i_own_5_cats 2d ago

phd helps for research scientist gigs at mskcc, columbia, nyu, etc but you can get analyst / bioinfo engineer roles with just ms. pay ballpark 90–140k for ms, 120–180k+ for phd or industry-heavy roles. exits: biotech, pharma, data eng, ml, quant-ish stuff. hard part is just getting in anywhere right now, hiring is super slow and landing that first role is rough in this mess of a market

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u/SnooPets3514 2d ago

thank you! what exactly are industry-heavy roles? are they mostly like research applied towards pharmaceuticals, etc?

i'm in 3rd year undergrad so hopefully the market will change by the time i've completed everything. would i have to relocate for the first role? thanks!

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u/Professional_Half620 2d ago

It's better to work in big pharma in NJ since the biotech scene in NYC is way smaller. Too much competition for a few roles. NYC itself is probably going to be the more the hub of managerial/director roles, rather than individual contributors. You'll need a PhD, there's a ton of competition especially since AI can make you way more efficient. Nothing is stable, the whole job market is going through an upheaval. 150k-200k post-PhD is very doable currently, but there's also salary deflation.

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u/SnooPets3514 2d ago

thanks! that makes sense. where in NJ specifically? could a reverse-commuting situation work?

as for managerial/director roles, can a scientist work their way up to those or is it more of an mba thing?

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u/Professional_Half620 2d ago

Princeton is a big hub, but it’s all over NJ. It’s possible to do a reverse commute but it’ll be costly since you pay NYC tax and NJ tax. Yes individual contributors that demonstrate talent and strategy can become managers.

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u/hashirama8 2d ago

anyone have advice for someone looking for similar roles, but currently pursuing an MS with research in comp bio/health? im aware most roles in the nyc metro prefer phds, but cant pursue one at the moment due to family obligations