Thanks for posting this - it's really good to hear that vivas outcomes can be successfully challenged. Well done for persevering Dr!

Hi, it's not usual to have two PhDs, especially in the same subject. You would probably struggle to get on a second PhD in Europe if you already have one. I doubt your university ranking matters that much (although that is very low). Once you get that PhD, you could always look for a postdoc in Europe.

You're only a month in Poetic - give it time - you will make friends. Plus I bet there'll be a bunch of new students starting in Oct so you can see if you can help them out and then become friends that way.

I'm not saying it's impossible, just highly unlikely in the UK and lender-dependant. Even if they did approve a mortgage, if they think you can't afford it sufficiently, they give you a very high interest rate.

Just tell her how you feel - she might then say she's happy to wait or she might ask if she can write it herself. It's better to be honest at this stage. I'm sure she will understand.

Most people on here are UK based, so you might not get many relevant replies. It's probably different in the UK anyway, but here you generally have to be in a job for 6 months before you can qualify for a mortgage and if you were earning £50k, you would be looking at around a £150-200k mortgage as a maximum. It's about affordability and repayment period.

Check on mortgage lenders/bank websites - they will be able to give you a more accurate idea.

Ok I see. I spent a year in the US as a PhD student so that's where my info is from.

I think your PhD is fine to qualify for a postdoc position. I have met quite a few non-US nationals doing postdocs in the US. The were from various countries such as India, China and Portugal. The Portuguese student told me she just took a chance and applied, but didn't think she would get it and she did, so you should definitely give it a go.

Make sure you research how to make a good application though (try to find examples of applications online), because US postdoc candidates have a lot of experience in teaching/conferences/publications etc so you need to be able to compete with them.

Quite often there are restrictions on who can get the funding. If something is funded by a US agency, sometimes the funding can only be used for US citizens/permanent residents. This is similar to Europe, where funding is often only available for EU citizens.

Obviously it can happen in some cases, and maybe it's more common in some disciplines than in others.

Funding eligibility would probably be mentioned in the advertisement for the position.

Why do you want to do a second PhD? You would have to be able to justify this to the PI you are applying to.

You're better off looking for a postdoc - most places won't want you do to a second PhD and there's limited benefit for you as well. Plus, how would you fund it? You're unlikely to get US funding as an international student.

Yes, it's very difficult :(

I could be worrying about nothing at the moment of course, since if I apply and don't get an interview, it won't make much difference.

My supervisor knows how much I want an academic job and knows that I only took that one because I need a job. He knows I would quit that one if something better came along. I could survive for a year without a job but I'd rather not use up all my savings.

That's good to know about the competition. I'm sure there's people out there with more lecturing experience than me, but having assisted in the department practicals and tutorials etc over the 4 years of my PhD I think that also gives me a bit of an advantage over a completely external candidate. Of course, other ex PhD students from this uni may also be applying so...

Thanks IntoTheSpiral.

I know there's an opportunity to do the PGHE or equivalent because I know others in the same role have done it.

Regarding the start date, this is part of the problem. It's on the 22nd of August and the manager has already told me there's no negotiation as she wants a two week handover with the previous jobholder. If I start the job, the notice period is 4 weeks.

For any one of these new jobs, they don't list the interview date, but I bet it's w/c the 22nd or 29th of August and then I bet they would want someone to start by the start of term, which is the 19th of Sept... Seems a very short turn around but I can't see them starting later than that.

I know reputations matter a lot, but I do have a great relationship with my previous supervisors in the department and I've always got on well with other academics and technical staff there so I would hope that would stand me in good stead whatever happens... The other job is in a completely different faculty so I doubt there would be much crossover, although they would probably contact my supervisor who provided a reference and ask what was going on and that wouldn't look great for him either...

So basically, I would have to start this job before the others even pass their closing date. That would then mean taking days off for interviews should I get them, which won't look good anyway, and then if I get any other job, I would have to have a reduced notice period, because I doubt they would wait for me.

On top of this, when I was offered the job, the manager said she felt she was taking a 'risk' hiring me, and I wonder whether she would make it difficult for me to take a new job even if I was offered it.

Thanks both for your replies.

Yes the new job is also temporary - until June 2017 and a much lower salary than these three. When I was applying and interviewing for non-academic jobs I realised my heart wasn't in it. I can't help it - I just want to work in academia - teaching or research, I don't mind, ideally both though. There's no option of industry jobs in my city or nearby and I don't want this type of job anyway - I don't really like pure research.

I know that the teaching fellowship is mainly teaching - I'm ok with this because I love teaching. Plus, I know I could squeeze in research on the side and my PhD supervisors would encourage me to do this. Publications aren't a problem: My publication record looks like this so far:

Tree et al 2015 IF 2
Tree et al 2016 IF 5
Tree et al 2016 IF 1
Smith, Tree et al submitted August 2016 IF 20
Tree et al due to submit October 2016
Plus I will probably have two papers from my postdoc (not first author) and there's another two collaborative papers in the pipeline for 2017/18 (not first author)

With the teaching fellowship, there's a good chance it will be extended because all the other five people that are in the department on teaching fellowships over the last three years have had theirs extended for at least another year. Actually, it only hasn't been extended when these people have moved on to other jobs.

There's no specific place to mention it on the application form, but in the interview they might ask me what I'm currently doing and can I start straight away and then it would be difficult to lie...

With regards to Uni B, I don't mind the extra teaching effort that may be required.

I'm wondering whether to rescind my current job offer on the off chance I get invited to interview for anyone of these...

Ok, so I have just accepted a non-academic but science-related position at university A (my PhD uni).

Since then, three academic jobs have been advertised in my local area that I want to apply for:

University A; £32k; 3 year postdoc (probably wouldn't get this as I think it's earmarked for someone else)
University A; £35k; 1 year teaching fellow (reckon I have a chance at this)
University B; £32k; permanent lectureship (reckon I have a chance at this too because it's not a great uni)

Say I got an interview for any of these, at which point, if any, should I mention that I actually have a job at university A already?

If I apply within the next two weeks I will still be in my current job, so won't have actually started at university A yet. Should I mention this in the cover letter for example? Or should I mention it at interview? Or not at all?

One of these positions would be working for my ex supervisor and he knows about my new job and says it's not an issue for him, but I don't know how the others would feel about it. Obviously my new manager isn't going to like me starting a job and then leaving it should I get one of these others but can't do much about that.

Yeah, I know the feeling, I felt like that for about a year into my PhD.

I did the things my supervisors asked me to without really understanding why.

The more you read, write and listen, the more you will eventually understand. I wouldn't worry about it at this stage!

If you really can't start anything, and you can't ask others in your group, then you need to go back to your supervisor and ask for more help. If you don't, you are only making it harder for yourself in the long run. It's a lot easier to have that conversation at 1 month in than at 6 months in...

Well done Charliebrown! That is great news!