Every year, Yeshiva College graduates a class chock full of soon-to-be doctors, lawyers, dentists, businessmen, rabbis, and other professionals. However, buried deep within those ranks stand less than a handful of unique students who, instead of finishing their education and rushing off to make money, hope to continue to learn, seek, and explore for their entire careers. These are the academics, those who choose to pursue a career in research or in scholarship, often working toward fulfilling their ultimate goal of teaching in an institution of higher education.

The path that they have chosen is both long and arduous. "The time it takes to earn a Ph.D. is comparable to how long it takes to become a doctor," confirmed Dr. Raji Viswanathan, Yeshiva College Associate Professor of Chemistry. Asked why so few graduates choose to embark on the research track, Viswanathan asserted that there seems to be less opportunity and less guarantee for Ph.D's. "[Although] almost all of the medical doctors that I know have jobs, I know many researchers who are looking for work," she pointed out. Yosef Crystal, a Yeshiva graduate currently finishing his Ph.D. in chemistry at Columbia University, asserted that part of the problem is that someone with a Ph.D. has "very few options because [he's] so focused" in one very narrow area. "With a master's degree, however," he clarified, "[the researcher] has a slightly broader range to choose from."

The scope of available jobs ranges from the obvious positions as research scientists and professors to less standard functions such as consultants and lawyers. However, working within the commercial world has its drawbacks. Viswanathan revealed that "when in academia, you get to research almost anything that you want. But in the commercial world, your boss tells you what to do." And that is something for which most researchers simply refuse to settle. It becomes apparent, as well, that the salaries of academics - especially those of science researchers - often compare quite unfavorably to those of more mainstream professionals.

When asked why he decided to pursue a Ph.D., Crystal explained, "I was more interested in fundamental questions, such as why things happen, and how molecules interact." Avi Robinson, a chemistry major currently studying at Yeshiva, will pursue research because he has always been attracted to study. "I consider research," he specified, "while grueling, to have the excitement of the pursuit of knowledge." The same answer seems to constantly surface: "I'm going into academics because it is what I want to do."

But before any student decides to engage in a lifelong pursuit of knowledge, he must be absolutely sure that he will love it. And even then, there could be complications. Crystal confided that "there's a tremendous amount of politics involved once you get to the Ph.D. level, which makes things difficult." It would be a good idea, he said, to first talk to other teachers and students within your field of interest, both about the pursuit of a Ph.D. and about the specific institutions that interest you.

An increasingly popular option has become the pursuit of an M.D./Ph.D. that allows students to combine academic and professional pursuits in a unique blend. David Krieger, a graduating Yeshiva senior, plans to do just that at the University of Pennsylvania M.D./Ph.D. program he will attend this coming year. Once Krieger completes the taxing eight-year curriculum, he can train as both a clinician and a scientist. He outlined his goal of "combin[ing] both of these careers by working at an academic hospital (like the University of Pennsylvania), doing research and clinical work together." While the breed of academics seems relatively rare at Yeshiva, it seems that those who choose to pursue their quest for scholarship and research feel nonetheless satisfied with their decisions.