When I read stories like this I want to take academia to task for failing those with the commitment and dedication to hang around for PhDs when those students could have gone off years earlier and got decent jobs elsewhere. Any PhD that does not include a significant a lengthy internship or work placement period is simply no longer worth the paper it's printed on. There are no jobs in academia. Ergo, PhD graduates must go and work elsewhere upon completion. In order to do so, they must become known to potential non academic employers well before the PhD is completed in order to appear credible to non academic employers.

I would suggest that you simply have no choice but to move location, tbh. There are a lot of market research positions out there that would take on someone such as yourself as an entry level Research Executive but you have to be prepared to go and live in London to really get on in that profession. You should also go back and speak to your old uni careers service. Most careers services will continue to deal with graduates until around five years after their most recent degree qualification, and it sounds like you are well within that window. These people have a duty of care to you, and ought to have at least some contacts out there that you can investigate.

It's very easy for PhD graduates to complete their studies and then be left dangling unless they really push for better things from the services they are entitled to. There is a lot more out there job wise than data entry work but it's not that easy to find and universities currently do absolutely sod all to help their PhDs to find it. As a PhD you're just a bum on a seat to the dept concerned, sadly. You need career plans from day 1 of the PhD and that includes a clear understanding of non academic careers that interest you. I managed to get on in market research; it's not what I thought I'd do and I don't massively enjoy it compared with academia but you have to understand that a PhD is worth considerably less to a CV than you want to think because of the work that has gone into it. Unfortunately no one ever tells you this, certainly not academics who have a vested interest in lying to you about the doors it might open up simply to get talented people into their PhD programmes to boost the dept's esteem. End of.

First of all, as others have said, the fact that you can't get a job at the moment is not a reflection on you, but on the awful job market, especially in academia. It really is pretty dire.

Have you considered tutoring for the Open University? Depending on what area you work in and if you have teaching experience, this might be worth a try? I know it's not full-time, but maybe better than nothing. (Unless it would mean you lose other benefits etc etc)

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No, my boyfriend doesn't have a PhD. He has a Masters, and in the current job market he's lucky to have a well paid job which is related to his qualifications, rather than having to take a call centre job or something. He doesn't understand why my situation is so soul destroying because he got lucky with his job.

It seems wrong that I should have to hide my PhD to get a job; something I've worked so hard for should be an asset to be proud of, something that benefits me, not something to hide. If it's such a disadvantage that I have to hide it, what was the point of doing it at all?

I'm not saying that I'm entitled to my dream job just because I have qualifications, but surely it's reasonable to expect some sort of professional job which makes use of my abilities and justifies my huge student debt, rather than spending my life stacking tins of beans? Everyone I went to university with for my masters has managed to get a professional job with a salary well above minimum wage, so why should I be the exception just because I did a PhD? Does a PhD somehow make me less worthy of the sort of professional job that bachelors or masters graduates are able to get? Is it unreasonable to expect to be on a par with my peers (who actually have less qualifications, and who received a salary while I made huge financial sacrifices to do the PhD)?

I don't see why it's unreasonable to expect something more than a minimum wage job when I've worked hard and made sacrifices to achieve a PhD. My friend is making sacrifices so she can train as a nurse and provide a decent life for her child - is she wrong to feel upset if she graduates and ends up being a waitress, thus wasting all her sacrifices and hard work?

I sympathise too! It's certainly tough out there with so much competition for so few jobs yet they keep advertising for more studentships I sometimes wonder if you can apply for one of those. I've seen some interesting ones which would make great postdocs! Unfortunately the situation doesn't seem to be getting better as they are keen to train students without regard for the market and their ability to find jobs which is very depressing!

The current situation in academia is awful - you seem to need to have done a postdoc already before you apply for your first one, have X no of publications or X no of years teaching experience before you get anywhere close for a temporary teaching post!

The advice I was given is to hang in there and publish! I guess there are quite a few of us doing that here hoping that our years of dedication are worth it! It does sound incredible that after all we went through we are not able to get suitable jobs! Something surely has to be flawed!!! Surely education is a good thing! Anyway there's not much I can add to what the others have said so good luck and remember you're not alone! It's a tough journey but I'm hopeful it'll be over soon! 8-)

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Rigel, pls take it easy on yourself. It is norm to go thru hardship in life. Ponder on those who live life without any limbs and yet they are happy. There are always people out there who go thru life worse than us. Hang on to it. I am sure the tide will change and the happier moment will come beyond your imagination. Perhaps you can join some volunteer group to do something and who knows from there you can get to know someone and get some better job.
You got to get busy doing something and not to let your mind wanders. Every day may not be good, but there's something good in every day. Take care, cheers

You have to stop thinking in terms of you being worthless because you can't get a job - that is the situation that many of us are in but it's just the way things are at the moment. I am lucky in that I have a job (not one I particularly like and not one that you need a PhD or even an MA for!) when I finish. I also don't think I will get a "PhD job" ever as there aren't any openings where I am and I can't move with out causing problems for husband and kids! Just remember that your daughter will be proud of you - you have tenacity, a PhD and now you just need a bit of luck!

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PS:

www.mrweb.com
www.researchjobfinder.com

Commercial jobs for new graduates with PhDs are usually obtained through recruitment agencies that specialise in precisely this sort of endeavour - placnig people with appropriate companies after a lengthy discussion with the candidate to determine their needs and wants. The above links, as well as advertising myriad jobs currently available in research, also contain links to specialist recruiters such as Sue Hill Recruitment and Hasson Associates. I suggest you explore those to see where they might lead.

If you really are location-fixed then it would be worth exploring the freelance angle. You suggested that one company wouldn't take you on because they didn't respect your academic research experience. I suggest you contact other companies like them and offer yourself up as available for freelance research and consultancy work on an ad hoc basis for now. You might even think in time about converting that into full-time self-empoyed consultancy work. But you have to make this sort of happen yourself, because unfortunately no one is going to come looking for you and employment in the West is increasingly becoming a freelance exercise anyway. A lot of companies that downsized during the recession have increased their output again, but are using freelancers rather than employing anyone "properly". Most companies will meet a propsective freelancer if he/she has written a tailored letter explaining their offer.

I would suggest you take this route, rather than panic yourself into applying for menial work. What I've suggested here would be a more fruitful use of your tmie than just rushing for a job for the sake of having a job.

Once you get a few freelance projects under your belt then so long as you have been good to work with then people will keep going back to you and recommend you to others. It would take some time to be so established as to guarantee a regular stream of work, but at least you get to be self-employed and get to determine your own role, which is something that those of employed in the private sector by someone else never get.

Regards,
John

I just feel bad because I totally screwed up. When I applied for the PhD I was thinking in terms of training for a career, not getting a job; I assumed that with a PhD I'd be employable in a variety of professional roles, and hopefully could become a lecturer or a researcher. I wanted to be a professional person on a decent salary so I could provide for my daughter. I laugh at my optimism now; I really thought I was doing something positive for my future, what a joke that turned out to be.

Why was I so stupid?! Why didn't I look at the job market and choose to study for a job that was in demand, instead of choosing something I enjoyed?! I should have trained to be a lawyer or an accountant or something, because I see such jobs regularly advertised for people who have relevant qualifications. Instead I became a scientific researcher and lecturer, thereby restricting myself to half a dozen potential employers who rarely have jobs available, half of whom have turned me down already. I really screwed up in terms of getting into a good career, both for my daughter and myself :(

What kind of science, Rigel34? I would be willing to wager that there are considerably more than half a dozen employers that you would be suitable for if you think a bit more widely than the specific content of your academic research alone. Commercial science-y stuff is driven by SMEs. Is there some kind of Centre of Excellence for science in your region? Have you looked through the Technology Strategy Board's website to investigate which companies aer applying for R&D money for new projects? Our company does a lot of research work for new tech companies, which I end up doing and my PhD isn't even in science! It's the ability to do research that counts, not the specific subject matter.

If your work is anything to do with pharmaceuticals in any way, shape or form then I can immediately think of several dozen research companies in that field that would be suitable for you - and who may be interested in letting you freelance from home if you prefer.

Regards,
John

You also need to read the most recent Vitae reports about developing careers for research professionals and read smoe of the case studies of those who have segued into non-academic employment, if only to get an idea of what sorts of roles they go into.

PhD students nowadays should be reading that sort of thing from the beginning of their studies, just to get them thinking about the range of careers they can potentially get into, but universities do an exceptionally poor job of making their students aware of them.

Large consultancies such as Accenture focus almost entirely on new technology; not sure how far that corresponds to your PhD though.

And finally...

Most of us who had our academic dreams well and truly stamped on by the deletrious, appalling nature of the academic job market (150 academic positions applied for; 0 interviews) end up doing jobs that bear little direct relationship to the knowledge gained during the PhD. A PhD gives you an outstanding skill set in terms of project management, time management, commitment, research skills, etc. - but employers often don't realise this. These really have to be spelled out to employers.

If I were you I'd ring up the comapny that said you would be happier in an academic position, tell them you appreciate the feedback but that you were disappointed by their attitude toward you and calmly exlpain that a commercial career is indeed your aim, that you were greatly excited by the prospect of the position available, and that you wish to clarify what they would expect to see on your CV that would make them take you seriously as the outstanding candidate that you believe yourself to be. Seriously, I would do that - and pin them down on it as well - and then explore if providing some freelance or intern-based work for them, or for someone else, would help to build that type of CV.

I work in computer science, but I'm not a programmer. My expertise is more in the field of software design and psychology; I'm not at all technical.

I see computer programming vacancies advertised all the time, but wouldn't have a clue where to start with doing such a thing. Neither would I have a clue how to fix a computer. All the jobs advertised by IT companies seem to want someone with either programming, IT support, or hardware repair skills. My skills are in analysing the needs of computer users and designing (but not programming!) software and hardware products for disability, accessibility, non-traditional user groups, etc. There are numerous jobs in this field with IT companies across Europe and in London, but none where I live, apart from the 2-3 jobs which have already rejected me. I figured if there were no research jobs I could always be a lecturer, but at present there are no jobs in academia either :(

I'm still cut up about ruining my one chance with the biggest player in my field; they interviewed me and didn't like me because I apparently came across like a quiet mousy academic, not an assertive business person :(