You sound like a strong candidate. And the fact that you've been in contact with them is good - I know that my boss seems to be more impressed by job candidates who have made prior contact. I can't really think of anything else you could do at this stage apart from:
- practice your responses to likely interview questions (and get other academic friends to suggest to you some questions that you might not have thought of)
- make sure you're comfortable talking about your own research experience, and the strengths and weaknesses of past projects etc.
- try to work out what was meant at your previous interview about how you could 'have shown more interest in research, and particularly this project'. Was it something about your CV? Were you very nervous in the interview and didn't let your enthusiasm come across?
- see if you can find out who else is on the interview panel, and at least take a quick glance to see what their research interests are, as this may influence the angle they take with their questionning - you might also be able to throw in the odd comment in your responses that pique their interests.

Good luck(up)

I dropped out of my PhD after 18 months. It is far too soon for you to be pondering whether to quit. You have just gone through a massive culture shock - I'd be very surprised if it hadn't hit you in some way. Give your project and your new environment time to settle before you start querying your future there. If you make any drastic decisions at this stage you may well look back on them with regret.

I would echo those who say 'get out there and meet people away from uni'. I think it's the most healthy thing for PhD students wherever they are to have stuff going on outside their academic department, be it hobbies, sports, family commitments, voluntary work or whatever. Even the most successful PhD will have dark days when you just need to escape into the 'real world' for a bit.

You've actually got a fabulous opportunity here to try new things and reinvent yourself if you so desire. Perhaps you are someone who thought 'I've always wanted to try flamenco/macrame/dry stone walling/learning the bassoon but I'm worried about what other people would think of me'. Here is your chance to try something entirely new without worrying about how it might change people's perceptions of you. You can be whoever you want to be. Perhaps try to come up with 2 extracurricular activities - one that you can pursue on your own for relaxation (e.g. knitting, art, creative writing, going to the gym) and one that gets you meeting people (an evening class, a sports club, a book group etc)

Keep going - I'm sure it will get easier over time.

======= Date Modified 10 Jul 2009 11:27:00 =======
Try www.findaphd.com

According to the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE)* the following establishments were noted for Epi/PH research:
http://www.rae.ac.uk/results/qualityProfile.aspx?id=6&type=uoa

You may wish to look at the websites of the institutions in question to find opportunities.

HazyJane

*A survey which tries ascertain the quality of the research output of institutions, which will often be debated in inverse proportion to the strangth of the ranking awarded!

======= Date Modified 10 Jul 2009 10:50:14 =======
Do you know what the purpose of the 'health clearance' form is? Is it to specifically assess your suitability to undertake your project, or is it a generic HR thing? I had to fill in an occupational health thing when I started my current RA post which asked a lot of questions but most of it was geared towards generally assessing your health status so that occupational health could perhaps offer any relevant support/equipment as required. I figured that is was probably a legal requirement that they asked these things at this stage so that an employee didn't turn around in 2 years and sue for bad working conditions 'because nobody ever asked me what my needs were'.

As it happened I decided to disclose that I had taken ADs in the past, as I thought there was a chance that they might find out via a previous encounter with occupational health at the same institution. I emphasised that this was historial. I heard absolutely nothing back at all.



Is it possible to contact the department administering the form and enquire the purpose of it and the kind of action they take in response to various answers (be vague)? Ultimately I guess it's up to you what you choose to disclose, and to work out the implications of the degree of honesty you decide to employ, but it might be easier to reach a decision if you do know why they are asking the questions.

I think it would be worth applying for some technician jobs in the meantime because:
1. The competition might not be as hard as you think
2. It would look more relevant on your CV than admin work, and develop skills that you might not yet have
3. Even if you aren't successful, it'll give you more practice of application/interviews in an academic environment, which might strengthen your PhD applications
4. You might find that wherever your working really grabs your interest and you'd like to do a PhD there, in which case you would have a far higher chance of winning over the supervisors there if your work has been good.

It's true that they can't expect you to hit the ground running in a PhD. But you'd be at a heck of a disadvantage if you had no practical research experience outside of your degrees. If you do some technician work, even if just for a few months, it will help your transition to being a PhD student enormously.

I should add that although you don't say what your field is I'm kind of assuming it's something sciency/lab based. I have never heard it expressed explicitly, but I do get the vibe that lab science is perceived in some quarters as something you have to get as far as you can when you're young so as to make a career for yourself. Which is not helpful, partly in terms of discrimination, as you say, and partly in terms of excluding people who could make a valid contribution, perhaps even more so with the benefit of their years. I changed from a lab based pure science field to a more interdisciplinary one where people come from a range of backgrounds, and I'm actually at the younger end of the spectrum there - age and experience is viewed as a positive thing, and the career trajectory generally seems more healthy in my view.

On the topic of experience, do you have any relevant achievements/experiences outside of your degrees? If so, sell them well in your applications. If not, you might like to try acquiring some while you are going through this interim period.

I'm sorry to hear of your difficulties Jojo. That's a lot for you to have to deal with at once.

I imagine those courses might be very popular at the moment, given the current economic situation.

The best thing to do would be to choose a few candidates and contact them to see what their admission requirements are and whether you might be in with a chance. If you apply to a number of places, make sure that your applications aren't generic - tailor each to the specific course you are applying for. In every case, make sure you emphasise your specific skills, experiences and interests relevant to the course, and how it would contribute to your future plans.

I didn't realise students couldn't apply direct to research councils for PhD funding. I thought that was just for Masters studentships.

Apart from research councils, the other sources will depend on your project area. For example, the British Heart Foundation accepts applications (I think) all year around and will take applications from students/their supervisors, but that is only relevant if your project has a cardiovascular angle. So try to identify disease-specific charities which might support your work.

If your project has a potentially industrial component, would a CASE studentship be something your supervisor could try to get hold of, in collaboration with an industrial partner?

What did you study, and what subject(s) are you considering for a Masters?

I would echo Missspacey's comments about seeing a careers advisor. Your contacts may also be able to help advise. It sounds like a challenging career path so you need advice more specialist than what many of us here could offer.

It sounds from your queries about public/private sector, and also course topics that you are perhaps still a little uncertain of your primary goal. You do indicate the desire to work for the UN, but I think it would help you at this stage to be more focussed in your goal and decide what kind of capacity you which to work for them? What excites you? What is driving you in your decision to take this kind of path? These answers may help you work out a more specific course of action.

Congratulations on your result. I hope you can relax a little now.

Regarding your query about the studentships available this year, and their likely availability next year, I would say that in general funding patterns vary from year to year anyway - this year's studentships may have been made avaialable for a specific project/research programme. They might not be running next year. The current economic situation makes it even harder to second guess.

There shouldn't be any reason why an internal candidate should be favoured over an external. Each should be judged on merit. That said, it is easier to have a more in depth awareness of the merits of an internal candidate, so they may on average be more successful with applications, but it shouldn't be the case that they are favoured just because of that.

It's definitely worth planning well for your career and thinking about the future, but to be honest if I were you I would just sit back and enjoy the post-results glow, and not get too caught up in thinking about PhD funding and supervisors until you actually start the masters, when you'll be in a far better position to make enquiries anyway.

Well done.(up)

There is no need to declare it on an equal opps form. That bit shouldn't be seen by the people for whom one would directly work, anyway. In the UK, as I understand it, it is illegal to discriminate against potential employees on the grounds of mental healht issues, so if one did declare it on an equal opps form, it shouldn't affect one's chances.

The only reason I would imagine for volunteering such info on a job application would be if there was a significant period of interruption in one's study/work history caused by it. But indicating 'ill health' might be sufficient in such cases.

One might, when starting a job, be surveyed by occupational health, who may ask about mental health issues. This is a trickier one to decide on, as far as revalation goes. I guess it depends on the extent to which one feels one's mental health issues may or may not affect one's day to day work. Also, it is worth bearing in mind sources of support workplaces can offer employees if they know about health issues.

Lovely to see such positive news! Well done! :-)

Ohh waiting is horrible. I'm awaiting a funding decision and I keep checking the course website as though one day it's suddenly going to say 'Yes, we're funding you HazyJane', even though I know full well the decision won't be made yet and that's not how they will notify people! Find lots of nice ways of distracting yourself, and do make sure you get a proper break before your next course starts.

A note on perfectionism: try to shake it off pronto. It's difficult and painful to do, but it's for your own good. I used to be a perfectionist, and was a model student at school - straight A*s at GCSE, straight As at A level...then I hit uni and discovered it just wasn't possible to read everything I felt was necessary to read in order to be a 'good student'. I then experienced some serious personal problems which meant my studies became a secondary concern. My attitude went from 'I really want a first but I guess a 2.1 will do' to 'Please let me get a 2.1!' Waiting for my BSc result was stressful as I had a PhD place lined up and was genuinely worried I was going to get a 2.2 and lose the place.

As it happened I got a decent 2.1 and was able to proceed just fine. These days I try to take the view that 'X is the outcome I'd really like, but Y would still enable me to reach my goals, so I can live with that'. I do still have traces of perfectionism - it drives my boss nuts when he'd like me to move on and I'm still faffing over detail - but I try to reconcile myself to the fact that you can't get things to be perfect all of the time. The truth is that perfectionism and PhDs do not go well together. You need to be thorough, yes, methodical too, and obsessive about detail. But it's highly unlikely that your work will ever be perfect. If you accept that, then the criticism you receive along the way (which is hopefully constructive but there are sadly no guarantees of that) will be easier to bear.

A couple of things you might like to try in the interests of maintaining your sanity. Firstly, read this: http://jcs.biologists.org/cgi/content/full/121/11/1771. I know it talks about science, but I think the general points apply to all research. Secondly, why not find some new activity to try this summer - such as a sport or creative activity - that is out of your comfort zone. Pick something that will interest you but not something you know you'll definitely be good at. This might achieve two things. Firstly, it might take your mind off the waiting and give you a rest from all that reading. Secondly, it might help you explore how you feel in situations where you aren't at the top of your game and have that uncomfortable feeling of ignorance/ineptitude.

Good luck with your results!