As for only blaming the system, I am not blind to my own naivety, my own flaws and my regrettable choice of supervisor (who is a problem). However, even you must admit the system we work under is far from perfect. I do not see what is wrong with actively working to rectify this ?

As for the argument that "you worked your arse off while others sat in the pub" sounds like jealousy and resentment more than something well reasoned. You rightfully obtained your education, got your job etc, whereas your peers didnt. Isn't that reward enough?

Or perhaps they could be viewed as exhibiting lateral thinking, street smarts, non-academic intelligence and a willingness to explore other options.

Otto-
On the contrary, I have taken advice from this forum and have tried to better myself. Taking the (hopefully) temporary job, the writing to other employers on spec and looking for work outside academia are things that others have suggested and I am looking into. The only problem is things take time, but I still have rent and bills to pay.

Unfortunately there is no forum for failed post docs, and if there was I would post on that instead. I would still consider my plight part of PhD life though, which is why its relevant here.

As part of my PhD, I am trained in critical analysis, which is why I find it hard to believe that an essay mill is a "criminal organisation". I also find it hard to believe "everything will be better" if I just leave academia. What I find harder to understand is that you, who as a PhD errant is also supposed to espouse critical thinking, analysis and exploration can be so dogmatic and Black/White in your thinking?

As for the essay mills, I am not sure how they devalue the work of others? I would say that I would be cheating the student paying for the work (who fails to learn the research and essay writing skills, because I am doing it for them). Its upto them if they plagiarise/ misrepresent my work as theirs. How does this affect another student's work. Its not like there are a restricted number of 1st/ 2:1 degrees and I am unfairly keeping someone else from achieving this.

The only other person I could be accused of decieving is the student's future potential employer, but screw them. If the same employers can't offer ME a job, why should I care that they may be lumbered with students whose abilities may not be the same as their degree classification may suggest?

I have decided to go for this.

I did some research what PhDs go onto do, but everyone I asked seemed to feed me the "Do a PhD and the world is your oyster" line (The PhD students who were studying at the same uni as I was, as well as the lecturers I spoke to). Obviously they had to believe that line themselves. No one else outside academia, seemed to say much, except "it sounds very impressive".

Its hard to get this information, unless from a place like this, but nothing like that seemed around at the time (1999-2000).

The hospitality industry does indeed suck, and I realise what I have to do is typical. However, most of my compatriots have not spent 7 years in higher education and have the corresponding expectations, so I think I am justified in finding a little harder than them.

You could probably mention that you know of people with PhDs and various other degrees who were only able to find work as waiters in restaurants, or other crappy menial places?

This sort of thing really annoys me, because I faced this at uni as well. I never looked down on others because of their education (which is just as well really considering how everything turned out), but enough of my peers thought themselves a bit above everyone else. I reckon they should screen these out before they are accepted for courses.

Yeah, this is looking very attractive, but what can I do that

a) doesnt require any money to do (as I am broke otherwise would not be doing my current job)
b) will give me at least some happiness.

I would like to apply for something outside academia, but from the temping agencies, people I have approached, the letters PhD seem to be like having a leper's bell attatched to you (at least in Britain). Unfortunately, cannot speak any other language otherwise would move.

I emailed the guy about the essay writing service, because I really need the money, and will see what he writes back. Hell, if the let me, at least I will be paid for doing what I was originally trained for (i.e. conducting researching and writing up), even if its for rich lazy students rather than academic journals.

How can any of us respect a system that treats its neophytes in this manner? Isn't there something fundamentally wrong about this? What's going to happen in the future? Ex PhD students having to be prostitutes?

The job is getting worse, and doesnt change even if you do the earlier shift. Its so repetitive, and mindless, and customers seem to lack even basic courtesy or respect if you are a waiter. I am not just whining, but I honestly oscilate from being invisible, or being an object of contempt. If it was a temporary "student job" with an end I would try to hack it out, but I can horribly imagine myself doing this indefinitely.

I keep sending off applications and speculative letters, but was told (confidentially) that my supervisor's name as my main reference is almost poisonous. I can't really escape this, as people are bound to ask.

Its almost farcical. Seven years of university education and a doctorate. Why the hell did I bother?

What was interesting was this morning, I got an email from a friend of mine, who writes essays for an essay mill. These are places where undergrads, and some postgrads can pay for you to write their essays for them. He (who did a MPhil in humanities) says the pay is good, and if you have some academic ability (which I still do, regardless of what my current employment says) they will hire you to write essays for the "instruction purposes" for others. Or lets face it, for others to hand in under their names, to get a good grade they didn't earn.

I know in my heart of hearts that this is dishonest (plagiarism etc for them), but I really do need the money, can probably do the job (mainly got firsts for my undergraduate work), and for my behalf am not doing anything wrong, writing research essays for cash (what the undergrads do with it is their business, right?). Also as academia has been so f***ing harsh with me, why the hell should I have any respect for it still?

Piglet

Am in a very similar position, and I really can't see the light at the end of the tunnel. Unfortunately, being of the XY chromosome persuasion, I cannot even resort to the Little Black Dress tactic. Again, it fills me with rage, that people like us are in this position, despite people talking about the "shortages" of scientists, wasting human capital, and knowledge based economies.

I hope something turns up for you, sooner rather than later.

If I had thought for a second that my life would come to this, I would have never set foot in university, let alone take up a PhD.

Perhaps I deserve this in some way, but am not sure what I did, or where I went wrong. My next real fight is going to be trying to find someplace to stay, as I can't keep paying the rent on my current place, so I still have some way before hitting rock bottom.

Words cannot describe how angry I am.

Funnily enough I do not feel the need to mention that I spent the last 4 years doing my PhD, so lie and say "I was travelling". I now serve food to the type of undergraduate I once hoped to teach. Humiliating isn't the word.

My boss is an egomaniac (I seem to attact this sort), I honestly have little in common with my co-workers, some of whom only have a basic grasp of English. I am tired all the time, and barely get to see my girlfriend (who has also started to become frosty recently, and has been badgering me to do a PGCE to teach). I havent told my friends or my parents yet. I am just praying something will turn up.

My hopeful round of applications to pretty much everywhere I could think of have come to bugger all so far. As have my attempts to harry the temping agencies to find me something vaguely white collar. In order to keep myself from homelessness, I have spent the last 3 days working as a waiter. Yes. Thats right, I am on the 4pm -midnight shift at a medium sized "family" restaurant.

Needless to say I am hating this with every fibre of my being, and the second I hear anything I am going to be gone for dust. I am the only native Brit here, everyone else seems to be from Eastern Europe and our cook is Spanish.

3. Little Miss Insecure.

LMI would insist on hanging around trying to compare what she had done to what you had done. If she felt even vaguely threatened she would spew this torrent of bullshit about how she had spent the last 72 hours not sleeping and getting this mammoth paper submitted to NATURE, that she was sure to win her the Nobel prize or some other such nonsense. If anything good happened to anyone else it was because they had either slept with someone higher up, or was just lucky. If anything bad happened, she followed my supervisors line that it was "because they were losers" (rather than say being ineptly supervised).

She was pretty much in competition the entire time I was there. She practically lived with her tongue jammed up my supervisors lower colon.

2. Mr Spock. The administator of the department was a big Star Trek/ Lord of the Rings fan. So big that he could NOT talk about anything other than science fiction. He openly said he took the job because he was "impressed by scientists" but radically misunderstood what we do. He asked me the most inane questions like "Have you figured out mind control yet?" or "When do you think that we will genetically engineer a superhero in this lab?" (in all seriousness). He would talk about his crush on Seven of Nine and how he would shag her. Despite being thin as a rake.

Its sad that he is the only person who has ever sounded impressed by my title "doctor". When I first got it he said it so much, in this really annoying faux american accent, I got sick of it.