>>14399561Sup /sci/. Hear me out. I got biomed undergrad degree with good 3.9 GPA. Did this to go to med school but realized I am not cut out for it, and found out I actually enjoy hanging out with fellow stem autists, doing lab work, writing scientific reports etc. Quite comfy and I enjoy it and prefer it over working 9to5 in a cubicle, or working in a hospital dealing with normies. However I graduated right before COVID hit and all my plans to do masters were put on halt. I talked to my buddy who graduated 1 year before me and went to do his master. He got into McMasters (thats in Ontario, one of our top 10) university and said his stipend is 20k leafbucks/year, and claimed he somehow manages to survive. Is the pay really dogshit? How do grad students survive and stay motivated earning less than a burger flipper? I love science, but not enough to get payed less than min wage with very nebulous prospects of employment after I graduate. I feel like it is just for people who want to delay their adolescence but it gives you no leg up in real world and you'll still have to go through the hurdles of going through 100s of interviews and other wagie horror stoties. Maybe it is better to just get a job and do certificates to get better pay, at least financially I'd be better off 3-5 years, compared to a fresh MSc or Phd grad with no real experience. I dont come from a loaded family, so making sustainable income is important to me.
My questions are:
1) How to get more money as grad student? Are there any websites and services that help you comb through available scholarships and grants and help you apply?
2) What are the employment prospects in Canada and USA with masters/phd in biochem/biomed/bioinformatics (those are fields I am interested in, also got some background in CompSci)?
