Is it ever going to get easier?
I have no job now and been looking for a long time now, I don't know what am doing wrong!
i mean i finished a PhD, but don't seem to be able to find a job! it is driving me crazy

i was always looking forward to the day when i finish, and now i really miss my work, my supervisor, my subject, i just miss them so much.

I struggled a lot during my PhD, but also there are some parts of the research i liked too, and I feel so attached to, I can't let go of the idea that I will never be able to contribute to the research question I was doing.

Research is difficult and like a maze ...etc but at the same time I miss the challenge and the excitement, I became good at it eventually.

I went to the lab to hand in keys ...etc and I was crying all the way! my PhD was so difficult and I was so lonely in that group but, I miss working in the lab, discussing results ...etc .

Besides i miss working with my supervisor and the excitement of finding something interesting, we had some kind of connection I think, and both worked so hard to solve any problem with the research and our collaboration really give solutions to problems I was facing, it was mutual contribution through discussions and hard work, so I miss that.
another thing making me so sad is my supervisor after all these years (he was always very supportive by the way), he is not very supportive in my job hunting, I mean he does reply my questions, but i was expecting more from him. am used of so much support from him I didn't expect him to ignore me like that, I felt I was very close to him and we worked well.

how much your supervisors helped you in finding a job? did they suggested any group to work with? or suggested any career options? I don't know but, this thing is also hurting me, he didn't even ask what am doing now, or am i finding a job, or just showing a little concern, I find it very sad.
here I am missing working with him ...etc and he knows by the way how much I liked the project and working with him, while he doesn't even ask how I am doing or what I am doing.
To be honest this is seriously affecting me and making me so sad, I know i seem pathetic, but this is how i feel and I can not help it, I feel betrayed somehow.
I know some supervisors who suggested to their student to work with other groups they know well, is that common or rare? I feel so deserted and lonely in this process, with no one to turn to, talk to or ask for advice.

how do you go about job hunting? is it me or it is usually like that?

please note this is my first time I search for a job and am not from UK so our system is different and I'm just starting to learn how hard it is .
Sorry being so depressed, but I need to let it out, it is driving me crazy, all these hard work is for nothing, at least it should be easy to find a job after four years of hard work but, it seems to

======= Date Modified 03 Feb 2010 22:00:27 =======
but, it seems to me a PhD is a punishment for life, you don't seem to be happy ever, there is always something will make you sad , even after graduation :-(

Few months ago, during my writing, I asked my supervisor to find a job etc, but he replied that now I should focus only on writing and when I finish " we can surely find a job for you" so since I really believed in every thing he told me, i stopped looking for a job during my writing period.
Now, I went to school and I was like who do you think is active and good in the area which i like, he replied funding is so low now a days and it is really difficult to find a job now, but don't loose faith, you might hear a job advert soon and it takes a long time..etc.
I mean i know he meant well and wanted me to focus on the PhD, but what about now? I asked if he can give me some work he said he doesn't have funding either.
I started to look for a job in an area a bit different from mine and when he knew about it he emailed me and said that is too different from my background.
well, I can't find a job close to my area because of funding, and he can't offer a job, so i have to do something different and start something even though it is not close to my area, what shall I do, it is been so long now.
Besides, the research am doing is vibrant and there are a lot of groups working on it, I don't understand why am having trouble in finding a job, I have a paper and a review and presentations ...etc, so i have a good cv, but still can't seem to find what I like.
offff am all so confused again
:$

Have you sought advice from the careers service at your university? They really should be able to give you tips on how best to go about looking for a job.

But there is also the problem of the current economic climate, so jobs are probably harder to get than they have been in the past. So you have to try that much harder.

Good luck though.

Breathe deeply and remind yourself that the academic job market in the UK is currently awful and that things are going to be hard for everyone not just you. New beginnings are always scary particularly if the road ahead isn't clear, so don't feel it's wrong to feel upset and angry, but try to think strategically too.
Have you been to your university careers service and read through their resources on getting research jobs? You could make an appointment with an advisor to get feedback on your cv and cover letter. Or looked at the materials on vitae.ac.uk? That might answer some of your questions.
All you can do is apply for any job in your field that's going regardless of location, and keep trying to get publications out from your PhD thesis. Honestly, this is probably less about you and more about the market right now - just read the Times Higher Education website - academics are losing their jobs all over the place, and research funding is so hard to get. Your supervisor really can't do much for you other than write a good reference when asked, because right now it's so hard for everyone. Might this be a good time to try your home country for jobs if they're not cutting university funding like they are here?
Or have you looked into the EU Marie Curie type funding? There are sometimes good jobs advertised on the EU CORDIS website if relocating elsewhere in Europe is a possibility.
And start thinking about a plan B in case things don't work out - remember most PhDs do not get academic jobs. This doesn't mean they're failures. Many earn much more and work fewer hours than academics.

and obviously I can't even express myself, no one understands me as usual

thanks bewildered, I did go to uni workshops, looked at vitae and read times higher education ...etc I have done so much, other option is to go to teach at home, and I really really hate teaching, I want to learn new things in life and I don't want to teach the same thing for the rest of my life, this is another point why I want to find a job quickly.

Hi Someone 3

It looks to me like you are being badly advised:

Firstly, you should not essentially depend upon your supervisor for a job, or for help in that area. Your boss has no obligations to you after graduation and is probably taking that approach. Basically if he is not interested in working with you any more, stop wasteing your time on him. My supervisor never gave any advice on applications etc or anything, I don't think this is especially uncommon.

Secondly, don't not apply for jobs if your supervisors says so. If you like the look of a job, even if it is in another field, why not apply, and try to outline why some of your experience may be relevant, you have nothing to lose by applying.

Thirdly, don't get down about it being a difficult time to apply. There are jobs out there still, and as long as you are prepared to apply and make a decent effort with your applications, and are not too bothered about where you go, you should at least get the odd interview.

finally, try Jobs.ac.uk if you did not already know about this website.

Good luck

======= Date Modified 04 Feb 2010 13:09:22 =======
Cakeman, I'm so glad that you read my post. This is the nicest advice I got, you seem insightful, thank you very much. Your words make so much sense to me and I think I needed to hear that.

I voted for you, if I could I would vote ten times (up). I feel much better and more optimistic now. :$

ah and one thing, I think I couldn't express in a correct way what i have written,
just for clarification, during my writing time I was asking to find job elsewhere not with my group. I only asked for a short contract with my group until I find a job i like, and I have been looking to find a job else where for quite a long time now.

As a bi- (or multi?) lingual scholar with a PhD from a British university the world is your oyster (an interesting phrase, since oysters have to be jimmied open.) The only exception to this is Britain, which is in a shit heap of trouble in its higher education sector and is generally a depressing place for recent graduates of whatever level. Anyhows, good luck
(up)

Hi Someone3

You have my sympathies - and I'm not surprised it's difficult to find a job. There are so many people with PhDs for so few research jobs, it's an awful job market. I'm not in the UK, and it's an awful market in my country too. Yes, think about a plan B, where else you might be able to do research apart from at unis. Think laterally, and send your cv around as widely as possible.

No real advice really, just to let you know I sympathise.

I'll be very blunt about this. Right now I wouldn't bother with pursuing an academic job (either research or lecturing). I realise (from my own experience) that the most desirable thing is to go on to be employed in academic work after a PhD, but the austerity blowing through HE today, coupled with the colossal backlog of academic hopefuls who have struggled to find work since 2005-06 (when the pressure to recruit only those staff who could make a massive contribution to the RAE effectively froze recent PhDs out of the job market altogether, a situation that has not improved since) means that the academic job prospects for anyone, even those graduating with a PhD from Oxford or Cambridge, are more or less nil.

Fro the discussions I've had, it seems that universities in the UK simply won't be recruiting significant numbers of new academic staff until 2015 at the very earliest, and many departments simply won't replace retiring academics, they'll just have smaller departments trying to cope with increasing numbers of UGs.

I hate to break it like that, but you deserve to know the truth and not the half-arsed vague assertions about "possible openings" that academics mutter to new PhDs simply to keep them interested in being extremely low-paid TAs within the departments where they studied their PhDs.

Unfortunately, we've never been in a situation when so many PhDs are "out there", so it remains to be seen how far the non-academic job market (itself very slender for now, although it will recover a lot more quickly than its academic counterpart) can absorb these people in roles suitable for their qualification level. I sometimes think that school teaching could be the way to go - that's one of the few areas beyond academia where I could see possession of a PhD being a significant advantage when competing for jobs.

I too think that WJ Gibson's frank response it a pretty much accurate reflection of the reality of the academic job market.

There really is nothing out there. And too many people were experience being laid off, and other phds and postdocs, competing for the scarce jobs that do become available...

So, really, I am going to have to go elsewhere..I just don't know where...

======= Date Modified 10 Feb 2010 10:48:32 =======
WJ, I fear you are rght. Someone, here, have a big hug ((:-x)) it's not solid avice or anything, but it may make you feel a bit better.

Me too Chrisrolinksi, me too. And I fear you're right Wj...

I see my peers, who've recently gotten their PhDs, picking up research assistant work and casual teaching, and trying to piece a career together. It seems there is casual work around, if you're on campus, visible, have good networks and are able to self-promote. Unis seem to thrive on the casual labour of PhDs...still, it seems a hard way to live, with no income for half the year, constantly having to look around and being on the periphery of the labour market. OK if you can afford to live like this, too difficult for many, I suspect, me included.