I'm now officially registered as unemployed. To be fair, the job centre advisor was a nice chap. He's given me 13 weeks to find a job as a researcher, and then I'll have to find anything. So, that's essentially 13 weeks to try and get my PhD wrapped up then. It was quite funny really. I explained to him that I'm hoping to get a PhD if I pass my viva and he just automatically assumed that I can do any technical job. So, he did a job search for me and it went something like this:

"Ah, there's a job here for an aeronautical engineer. Shall I print it off?"
"I'm not really qualified to do that, sorry."
"Okay. There's one here at Leeds University...research fellow in the Department for Built Environment?"
"No, I've got to do something relating to health."
"Are you willing to relocate?"
"Yeah, but I'd have to get some money behind me first."
"Well, there's a lab research assistant's job down in Plymouth. £24, 500 [whistles], not bad money is it? What's the difference between a senior research assistant and a junior research assistant?"
"The senior research assistant probably has more responsibility."
"Right, you see, I'm learning new things from people everyday."
It essentially went on like that for half an hour. The only downside to claiming Jobseeker's is that I have to go to a job club every 2 weeks or so...ughhhhh! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6e4Zuw5sPU

I went down there after my MSc. The best job they suggested was dressing up in a bear costume at the local heritage site. I didn't do it though, because the train fair to get there was £8 and they were giving me £5 an hour and it only required 1 hour of work each day :p

My first experience from a Job Center (well its Greek equivalent) was just after my first master. I was told about a job in a kindergarten (that was good as it was what I had studied) for 10 hours a day and for 350 euros per month (that is about 280 pounds)!!!
Ridiculously long hours and ridiculously low payment!

I think it depends who you get. Most people I know have found the JC completely useless, but one friend actually got a fairly decent admin job at a college with no experience and average GCSEs - she's earned a degree paid by her employer and climbed the ladder a fair bit. But they're mostly useless - they just don't care enough.

It sucks to be in that position, Wally, after so much hard work for so long in academia, but it could be worse - they could have refused to pay you unless you immediately apply for every soul-destroying, poorly paid position within a 300 mile radius. Good luck with your search jobseeker (up)

Sometime after his PhD my hubby put his CV into monster.co.uk and they found him quite a few jobs. In the end he didn't take any of them, because he found an even better (unadvertised) one locally. But they did a pretty good job, much better than the job centre would do.

I've never been able to get a job through the job centre...

I went there recently to get a PT job to go alongside the phd and the woman helping asked me 'so this course you're doing, what does it qualify you for?'

IT'S NOT A COURSE!!!!!!

Omg I swear to God the next person who asks me about my 'course'....

Thanks for the comments, everyone. I've had a think about it, and it's not all doom and gloom. I'll have a modest income while I write up, which should help to cover my outgoings. Living where I am, there are quite literally no jobs. So I doubt I'll be getting anything during this period, which may take me away from trying to write up. Then, once I have my PhD (wishful thinking), I can start looking for research jobs in earnest.
There's little point in going to the job centre since you can access the database they use from your own home. They're also not specialists like some recruitment agencies are, and the advisors become somewhat jaded and apathetic as a result of some of the scallywags they have to deal with.

Yes you're right about the jaded and apathetic and I can see it from their point if view - listening to people's complaints and abuse or having to watch people who are genuinely trying to get on their feet struggle all the time. And not even get paid well to put up with that. I imagine that's there's not much support for them either they just have to get on with it.

It's good that you've seen the ray of light in your situation. At least you've nearly finished! I've still got three years of tomato soup and no heating in winter to come! I'm already halfway to becoming