Congrats on the lecturing post - that's excellent news! I'll have to get tips on getting one of those those though I'm trying the ole postdoc route first.

Great to hear that your supervisor is working hard to get stuff back to you. I'm sure there won't be too many major changes, probably just small ones. I did manage to track down my supervisor when I was back at uni and they were quite "helpful" and even mentioned writing papers which is what they are really interested in all along! We'll have to see how this works!!!

Ta :) I was thinking post doc route too (Although I guess anything after the PhD is technically post doc in that sense). I had been applying for research posts mainly, and the occasional lecturing post as a long shot. I'd been told, and come to believe, that I needed a bigger research profile/experience alongside some more teaching before I could even think of going for a lecture spot. It worked out though :D And I'll get to run my own research too!

Huzzah for papers! They'll be good for plugging gaps whilst you wait for feedback. Thats what I've found so far, especially as they synch up quite well with the thesis content. There's not too much changing gear in a sense if you're swapping between thesis chapters and research based on the thesis.

I've got an internal and chair sorted out now so it's nicely on track.

Glad to hear everything's on track and it has all worked out. I'll have to keep my fingers crossed and annoy some more people. My supervisor also said the same thing to me about publications as they suggested that publications were the key to getting a job to make yourself stand out especially in the current economic situation! In my field most people do at least 1 or more postdocs before they get a lectureship it would seem.

It would seem like a catch 22 position at the moment which I think I've mentioned before - how does anyone get their 1st postdoc if they've just finished a PhD and not done a postdoc before hence no experience? I've seen a few postdocs advertised that suggest having previous postdoc experience would be an advantage!

So I am considering diversifying into other areas that I have an interest in which are related to my main research topic although with a twist (quite a lot in some cases) with the hope of getting back into what I really want to do later once I get a few publications under my belt. That's a good idea to try and do some publications while I am waiting - it would certainly speed things up and get the ball rolling!

Just wondering if you know if there is a good way to ask someone if they're interested in collaborating with you? Is it too direct to just ask? Or is there better being more subtle?

Cheers :p