PostDoc Discussion Forum

I guess you're in a STEM field. Have you considered training to teach in schools. Irrespective of your subject, take a look at: 1. Researchers in Schools teacher training scheme: http://www.researchersinschools.org/ and 2. ITE funding: [url]https://getintoteaching.education.gov.uk/funding-and-salary/overview[/url]

PS: If in the course of your training you find 11-18 year olds disengaged with, or disinterested in, their own education, move to the selective and fee paying sector, and you should enjoy teaching those children. A note of warning: don't expect those experienced teachers who have learned and mastered the ropes to respect you. Depending on where you find yourself, they might actually do everything to undermine you. But, don't let that deter you, you'll soon stop being a trainee teacher and move on to successfully complete your NQT year and become a fully qualified teacher. You can then quickly work your way up (salary wise) and earn what you would in the university without the pressure of publish or perish.

What I describe here is precisely my own post-PhD experience.

PhD graduates are usually employed at senior level in industry staright out of university.
The idea that 4 years of industry straight from undergrad is better than a PhD is absolutely wrong.
For a start, fresh graduates go through a 2 to 4 year graduate training scheme across different disciplines. After that they have no significant experience in any one area. PhD grads on the other hand are in a different league.
A PhD is equivalent to about 5 to 8 years experience without one. That has been true in every company I have ever worked in. Job adverts regularly state PhD or 5 years experience.

Another Ph D lad in trouble:) I've been unemployed for one year now. I'm lost and don't know what to do. What really hurts me is the SILENCE. I have been sending emails to everybody. Out of 40 emails sent nationwide. I received one email saying " sorry I don't have funds" the second one saying" I have NO lab. NO position available" exactly like this. I am wondering what's going on. Is it the field? I have six publications and I was one of the best 5%. So why no one is looking at my resumes?
Another funny thing I asked my codirector for a recommendation letter and he refused. he said I don't need one from a codirector since I have one from my direct supervisor...
I'm doubting myself, I feel old and insecure..

Oh sorry to hear about your struggles, guys. :((

I did two postdocs in the US, finally got my green card and thought it will be easy to find my dream company with it. But reality was different. Right now job market in chemical industry is not great. It took a couple of months for me to get a job, but the company is not what I was dreaming about. Not of a level of Dow Chemical, DuPont, whatsoever. I've been looking for a better company for a year now, but without any luck.

Chemical jobs are very focused. It's really hard to find a good match. I'm tired of my current company but see that things could be a lot worse. Now I am considering another postdoc just for a year to expand my skills, get new connections and change place to live. Will see how it goes. But current US job market doesn't give me much optimism. I'm thinking about starting own business in a future. In fact I already have a small side business and planning to expand it.

Hello Elbe. Sorry to hear of your difficulties.

Nothing is more important than your health. So if you feel you are spinning into depression I would urge you to seek support and do what you can to mitigate the triggers of that ASAP.

Do you enjoy the 40 hours a week you are spending on unpaid academic work? I ask, because it sounds like it is a means to an end (you are mainly doing it in the hope of getting a job) but I wondered whether you get enjoyment from it in its own right? Given your level of exhaustion, I would recommend not spending more than 10-20 hours a week on this, as there is probably an element of diminishing returns. Google the Pareto Principle(80:20 rule) and consider whether you could pare down the amount of time you are spending on these activities without having too detrimental an impact on the useful outputs.

Unless an unmissable opportunity arises, how about putting the academic applications on hold for a month or two. If you are jaded with the process you might not be putting together the best applications, and it would probably be good for your wellbeing to give yourself a break for a few weeks.

Finally, have you considered switching your day job? It's a common misconception that an academic role is the only worthy use of the investment that is a PhD, but there are so many worthwhile and satisfying jobs out there. If you are sinking into debt, that needs addressing ASAP, as it will only get worse. There are a world of opportunities on the spectrum between retail and academia, and it might give you a boost in a lot of ways if you explore them. You might not be able to control whether you get your desired career any time soon, but there are a lot of choices you have in your current circumstances which could improve your wellbeing soon. But you might need to take a step back to see them.

Why there are no new posts since two years ago? The problem has not changed much. I have a PhD in biology and working as an adjunct for past three years post graduation. Sent more than 100 applications. Had a few interviews, academic and non academic. I started working for a domestic violence crisis center about five months ago and have been devoting a lot of hours (since adjunct position covers only 10hrs/wk). I like what I do at the crisis center and passionate and committed to it. Recently, a position opened up and I applied. But got rejected. That was a low point and a severe blow. I am scared to go into depression and fear that I might do something not so right. Don't know how to cope the sadness that ensues. Would like to hear from someone going through the same situation.

I'm surprised at why people seem to restrict their skill set (or skill set acquired via PhD) to academia. To be honest, I'm still considering moving back into academia and have a couple of publications out, but am currently working in a different sector. So far, my employers here in Canada appreciate the skills I bring, and in my division alone we have four other PhDs (two in natural sciences as well even though we deal with economic policy), three CFAs, and five MBAs. The point is if you're one of those people that hopes to just go into academia after a PhD, then I've got bad news: it doesn't work that way, and it's not just about publications anymore it's also about networking, your supervisor's reputation and your department.

TreeofLife is right: PhD is for training both hard and soft skills (personality skills and technical). As for brown, Canada is also adopting a similar approach to Germany, and in fact the Canadians are hiring people from the States and Europe these days to take advantage of the educational experience there (hence why I was hired). I for one think as long as you are doing some research whilst not being in the academic sector you are getting a good return for your PhD, and can make the transition to academia in the future (with certain conditions). As for marasp, there's nothing wrong with working at a fast-food so chin up; I'm sure it'll be temporary but I would strongly advise people to be more flexible in their approach to job-hunting. Ultimately that's what helped me.

I disagree. That's exactly what a PhD is for: training. Whether this is training technical skills, time management skills, people skills or writing skills etc etc. There are very few students who begin a PhD and are proficient in every area. I had zero technical skills when I started and my supervisors were aware of this, but took me on because I demonstrated abilities in these other areas. In their opinion, it is easier and faster to develop technical competence than it is to develop competence in other areas.

PS I have absolutely no desire to be a technician of any kind. I don't fancy being a dogsbody doing the boring repetitive stuff for the rest of my life. I prefer teaching, tutoring, mentoring and management.

My original point was, they are hiring PhD students to do research on the cheap. If they want better, faster results to get more publications and continue their careers, they should stop 'training' PhD students and start 'telling' them, to save themselves time in the long run. It used to be beneficial to train PhD students, because they would stay in academia and produce good research in the same field, resulting in collaborations etc. This is no longer the case, so there isn't much point in investing time in training a PhD student to be an academic.