Alright I'll start off with what I plan on doing and then get into why this topic has been created.

I plan to finish up High School with my AA degree from a Community College. Transfer to a University (Somewhere like the University of Florida, Florida State University, or University of Southern Florida) and use my Bright Futures Scholarship to pay for everything. Get a BS degree in Biochemistry, Biophysics, or Biomedical Science. Then use my Florida Prepaid plan to pay for Graduate school and get a Masters degree in a similar field as my BS degree.

All of that is definitely within my reach. However I don't know if I really want to get a Doctorate degree because that would take up a large amount of my time and money. Now I've been doing some research into the various careers associated with Biomedical Science and how much they pay. Most of what I'm seeing is in the $60k-$90k range. Now I noticed that Biostatisticians can make upwards of $200k a year, which would be rather nice, however I assume that requires a Doctorate degree and a lot of extra schooling. I'm looking for a career that makes anything in the $90k and up region (not starting salary, that can be lower with only a Masters degree. And I prefer careers with more lab-work compared to desk work and computations (like Biostatisticians) since I'm stronger in actual science than math (Mostly Biology, scored a 100 on all my exams for that class. But I'm struggling to keep a 90% average in my AP Pre-Calculus class.)

So, basically what I'm asking is what lab-oriented careers in the Biomedical field make a good chunk of change?

I don't know anything about Biomedical careers, but I am a doctoral student and can tell you that many PhD programs will not cost you money....they often waive your tuition and give you a stipend for living expenses in exchange for part-time work (in the case of assistantships) or no additional work (in the case of fellowships). Of course, because they're funding your education, these programs are tough to get in, but if you do well in undergrad & master's (or go directly from undergrad) you can have a decent chance of getting in. So, if getting a PhD would allow you to do the type of work you want to do and/or get a much higher salary, then it's just a matter of whether you're willing to do the extra years of schooling.

How long would I be looking at for a PhD? Would it take the same amount of time to go from a Masters then into a Doctoral Program as it would to go straight into a Doctoral Program from an undergraduate?

That really depends on several things (the field, the specific program's requirements, etc) but generally, it's more likely to be faster going directly into a PhD program from undergrad, because a lot of PhD programs have a non-terminal master's degree...so you get your master's after your second year in the PhD program. If you get a master's degree first, some programs will let you transfer at least some of your master's work over, but a lot of times they limit it to a certain number of credits, which means you may have to do an extra year or two.

I got my master's first and I'm looking at an extra year (6 years of grad school total, instead of 5). My sister is in a biochemistry PhD program and went straight from undergrad, and she'll have completed it in 5 years max. Some programs are even 4 years, but it depends on the program, the specialty, what type of career you're aiming for, etc.

Thanks for the info! If you don't mind could you ask your sister how she likes the Biochem program? That's one of the fields I was considering.

No problem! She seems to like it okay...she decided to go to grad school because the place she wanted to work at was in a long-term hiring freeze, so she wasn't necessarily planning on going through with the PhD initially. But I think she's planning on sticking with it now. She's doing really well, but said her particular program is really tough...the majority of students drop out by the end of their 2nd year. I don't know if that's typical of biochem programs, but I have heard of others that are pretty hard on their students in terms of workload and whatnot. But I'm sure it all depends on the school, so don't let that discourage you.

My advice is, when you're an undergrad, to try to get some kind of hands-on experience in labs (either as a research assistant or just a volunteer) so you can work closely with grad students and faculty and get a good idea of what it's like first-hand. Pay attention to how the faculty treat the grad students, how much of a workload they have, etc.

And if you're thinking about what's best for your career long-term, I say get as much education as you can, because the educational requirements are only going to go up in the future. Some people are questioning whether the financial cost of education is really worth it these days, but that's largely because our economy's in the crapper and jobs just aren't paying as much (if they exist at all). But long-term, we'll eventually be at a point where education is much more valuable and necessary for high-paying jobs, IMO.

I think the most important to think about in the next few years (and don't worry, you have plenty of time to figure things out), is whether the additional education will allow you to do the type of work that will really make you happy, because the diploma will only be a waste of time if you end up hating your job.

Currently I'd recommend against a PhD or even a masters in any STEM field unless you have a very clear idea of how getting the degree will help your career prospects (meaning you know exactly what kind of career you want to pursue, and have taken a very good look at the job prospects for that career and can clearly see that an additional degree would help you). I say this as someone who has both a BS and an MS in chemistry and is currently working as a medicinal chemist in the pharma industry. The issue right now is that there is a major oversupply of PhDs in most STEM fields, and as a result it's very difficult for graduates to find jobs once they finish their degree, with most having to do 1-2 postdocs (which takes 1-4 years) following the 5-6 years to get their PhD. This oversupply is in large part driven by the fact that professors need plenty of cheap grad student labor to advance their own careers, so as a result universities keep churning through plenty of grad students, even though there aren't any jobs available when they finish (although very few people at universities will tell you this unless you corner them on the issue).

The reason I'd recommend against a Masters is because most standalone masters programs in the US quite frankly svck. Chances are you'll just end up getting another 2 years of undergrad level instruction which won't make you any more qualified for an entry-level position, but will increase the expectations of the people interviewing you (and I say this having interviewed quite a few people will both BS and MS degrees, and found most people coming from standalone MS programs very underwhelming). My advice to you would be to get a BS in the field of your choice, then from there go straight into industry (if you build a good skillset and get in 2 years of undergraduate research experience then you shouldn't have too much trouble landing a job). Spend 2-3 years in industry which will give you a sense of what the work entails, what the various career options are along with what the various career prospects are, and after you've taken all this in you'll be much better equipped to determine whether you want to go back to school for a PhD or continue on the path you're on with a BS. Going back to school for a PhD after 2 years in industry is pretty easy, but once you get a PhD that's that and a lot of doors are closed to you.