No Job 5 months after graduating.
Andrew,
At least you're employed. It's never the same dealing with all these setbacks without a salary, believe me, I'm there. From time to time, through a lengthy process of saving some money, we manage to get a short holiday. It is generally a trip to a close destination, but that helps, at least for a while. A friend who recently finished her PhD in London, but does not expect to be hired soon and is pregnant, summarised the feeling for me last month: right now, I just want a salary. I know trying to be motivated is the hardest thing, but I guess one must keep trying.
Four years since my viva and I'm still unemployed. I survive by tutoring teenagers and working as a supply teacher as and when they call me to offer a bit of work. It pays peanuts but keeps me from the humiliation of having to claim benefits and admit I have a PhD but no job. I worry that my neighbours think I'm lazy because I always seem to be at home. I worry that I won't be able to give my own child a decent life and a good education because I have no money.
I grew up dirt poor and vowed to work hard to make sure my own child never has to go through what I did. I feel like I've let everyone down, let myself down, and disappointed my parents who had such high hopes for me. My mother has always wanted to go to Hawaii, so back when I still had high hopes of a good career I promised I'd take her as soon as I got a job. She's had a photo of her dream Hawaii vacation on her wall for the past 20 years and it breaks my heart every time I see it, because she's going to die without ever going there. I told my daughter she could have piano lessons when I finished my PhD and got a job, and she's still waiting too. I feel so guilty because I let them both down.
I suppose my point is that you're not the only one who is suffering. Cold comfort, I know. As a smart person I know that the only solution is to write the PhD off and start again - maybe start a small business doing something completely unrelated. It's so hard though - I spent so long focusing on my field that I don't know what else to do.
Fellows I need advice. Once upon a time, when I was really upset (well I still am, but a little less), I submitted yet another 101st appi for one lab which I didn't even really read the description of.
Suddenly, I got an invitation to an interview. There have been already two informal interviews. This is a highly-ranked uni and the PI there has got a quite high h-index. I was a bit disappointed that the people I talked to, could barely speak English (even though the uni is in the US). The lab solely consists of people which come from one big and overpopulated country which I won't say the name of.
I am now being very confused. On one hand, I like the place where I work, I have an opportunity to have my own ideas realized, but I do understand that I need an appointment outside of my uni. And the position, which I applied for, seemingly has advantages (since the uni is higher ranked, the PI has a better record). But I am repelled by the national contents (this is not to offend someone, it is only my private and personal opinion and also rather negative experience), and the fact that my qualifications do not perfectly match the project. Also, my own projects would need to be suspended.
I'm at the very beginning of my path as an experienced researcher. Please support me, tell me what to do.
Fellows I need advice. Once upon a time, when I was really upset (well I still am, but a little less), I submitted yet another 101st appi for one lab which I didn't even really read the description of.
Suddenly, I got an invitation to an interview. There have been already two informal interviews. This is a highly-ranked uni and the PI there has got a quite high h-index. I was a bit disappointed that the people I talked to, could barely speak English (even though the uni is in the US). The lab solely consists of people which come from one big and overpopulated country which I won't say the name of.
I am now being very confused. On one hand, I like the place where I work, I have an opportunity to have my own ideas realized, but I do understand that I need an appointment outside of my uni. And the position, which I applied for, seemingly has advantages (since the uni is higher ranked, the PI has a better record). But I am repelled by the national contents (this is not to offend someone, it is only my private and personal opinion and also rather negative experience), and the fact that my qualifications do not perfectly match the project. Also, my own projects would need to be suspended.
I'm at the very beginning of my path as an experienced researcher. Please support me, tell me what to do.
I think you can't answer a question like this.
It depends if you can publish something good. The odds are probably better if you are working with a PI that has a strong record but it does not necessarily have to be like this. I guess nobody will be impressed by a high ranked uni if your record is not high ranked too ;)
However, if you are prejudiced against a whole nation I would not recommend to work in a group full of people of that nationality.
The problem with me is that I have stayed at the same lab, where I graduated from, for almost a year and right now no further position is foreseen. I work on different projects and at the same time I got a good opportunity of continuing my PhD topic which would definitely lead to at least two good publications. I also got students under supervision, which work on it, which is quite handy. I do continuously apply for positions, I even almost won a fellowship, but at the end of the day I fail. How is that even possible to follow advice like "stay no longer than 6 months with the same lab"?
I found myself applying sometimes for positions which I don't really like, I just do it because "I need to go". And now it happened: one of such unpleasant appies has worked out. To say that I am confused is to say nothing. What to do? Continue my new projects and own research area at the risk of "HURR DURR he stayed longer than X seconds after graduation" or to go somewhere else just for the sake of going somewhere else?
I think the best advice is to stop applying for positions you don't want! Now you've proven to yourself you can get a postdoc elsewhere, just apply for places you actually want to go.
No way my friend. It is easier to say than to do. Now I will be having even less chances. Applying for betters one ALREADY would mean staying at least a year longer and I am definitely outa that 6 months rule. And I will need to explain. But how to explain if you even simply fail to get invited for an interview?
Ok, so it's a case of need not want, I get that, but that means on some level you actually want to go to that place you were accepted into, otherwise you wouldn't be considering it. When I was applying to postdocs, there were some that seemed to be great projects and I probably would have got the positions, but didn't feel right, so I didn't apply because I knew I didn't want to go there. I don't want to be in this postdoc where I am either, but it was the lesser of two evils.
Personally I wouldn't worry about spending too long in a place if it's going to be productive, and I think that's what you say in an interview. I think it's fine to say you have applied to other places and you are waiting to hear the outcome, rather than saying everywhere else you applied to has rejected you.
Not at all....just letting you know that as a relatively new member of this forum, you have not been here for even a year, that your racist bullshit wont fly. In fact I am surprised no one checked you yet. If you are upset at being a mediocre lab rat....don't take out your frustration on people who are clearly your betters.
LOL you keep falling into the trap by defending your rather despicable views, so I shall have to keep schooling you. I don't know if anyone has told you, but if you want advice, your first fuck up was not to publish before graduating (or shortly thereafter)....no excuses really if you are serious about academia. Now 4 years later and you are still in the same Uni in the same department? No publications yet? Well I'm afraid you are beginning to come across as somewhat of an undesirable (academic) inbreed, who is not really that serious.
The problem with people like you in their little racist box is that you will miss many opportunities because of your irrational disdain for what I can only assume is non-white, non-native English speaking immigrants. Hypothetically if you were a senior professor with an illustrious career and you were caught saying what you just said a few posts ago...you would lose everything and your life's work would be meaningless. So in actual fact, being a decent human being is wayyyyy more important than being a (hardly) brilliant racist.
You alluded that you had a really negative experience with an immigrant....so....who hasn't had one with a person of different cultural background? If you get food poisoning...will you be 'repelled' by food forever thereafter? Stop being a douche-bag dude. Like right now. You have a PhD so I know you know there is no defendable causation between your bad experience and your racism.
But I'll tell you what...with your attitude, you are very close to being an undesirable, bitter nobody, who will ultimately end up being irrelevant if you do not correct course. I would not want you as a research partner, colleague, nothing....regardless of your academic astuteness. Racism and bigotry is one of the most ugly things, and that kind of ignorance has no place in an academic's character.
And no I will not be exiting this thread because you need to be checked.
