Let me first start by introducing myself - I am currently a postdoc at a prestigious university working within the field of Natural Sciences. Like most of the people on this forum, I chose to study for a PhD for two reasons: 1) Because of a fundamental curiosity for my subject, and 2) by obtaining a PhD I would gain the depth of knowledge and ability to critically analyse complex data needed in order to progress in an industry deeply related to my subject; so basically improved job prospects. However, with an increasingly depressed looking job market, and after 1.5 years/100+ job applications with little more than a ‘thank you for your interest’ email, I must admit I am starting to question the point of obtaining my PhD. Having spent the last 10 years of my life in academia, honing and refining the skills I once thought to be immensely beneficial to the United Kingdom, I now feel these 10 years have been a complete waste of time and tax-payers money. It has become evidently clear that far too many PhDs are chasing increasingly few industry/academic positions, and so even the ‘high flyers’ within my field are being forced to take their skills elsewhere (abroad), or to accept 3 month contracts at questionable companies for roles that do not require even a fraction of their abilities. With that being said, there is still the option of the perpetual postdoc, moving from pillar to post every 2 years in order to stay afloat and to stay ‘competitive’ (although after years of being a postdoc you are probably less competitive than a fresh graduate). Apologies for the rant – I hope this depressing situation is not mirrored in other disciplines.

Perplexed - I'm afraid your discipline is actually better off than most! I imagine for instance that you didn't self-fund your PhD, as is often the case in the humanities, only to emerge to the same job market (or lack thereof). And at least there are still postdocs in the natural sciences... but pointing out that you might be one of the comparatively lucky ones doesn't really help.
Especially if you've always been a high flier, the post PhD job market can be like coming down to earth with a bump. First experience of failure etc. Presumably you're now at the stage, where if you want to have a more settled academic career then you have to apply for new PI type fellowships? I'm assuming this isn't where you originally wanted to go from your post, but given the lack of industry jobs at the moment, might you consider that route? Or do you think you're not competitive for those types of things? Or could you consider a couple of years abroad to get some industry experience in the hope things pick up here? I have a friend who moved into an industrial position in Germany, originally by getting a Marie Curie postdoc in a lab there that worked closely with industry. He loves it, and although he originally intended it to be a short-term move, has stayed.
OK your employment situation / immediate future is not what you had assumed it would be. You might not be able to step straight into what you want, but I think you're going to have to be realistic about what is out there and how you can get there in a series of steps. So rather than thinking perpetual postdoc, is there a skillset that industry are looking for that you lack - if so, could you gain that skill via another postdoc? Might a 'questionable' company at least give you some business experience? Or alternatively, how about a complete career change? Teaching? Scientific writing? Patent law? Good luck and my sympathies!

I find myself also sympathising with your situation. Although my PhD was based on a science / engineering project (a high temperature materials engineering project with potential automotive, aerospace and power generation uses) that had been running for six years before I joined it (two other lads had gained PhDs from it), I also feel my PhD has not been of real value to me since I finished it now some time ago.

After two post-docs (the second not so great at a different university on biomedical devices - good project, not nice people) I tried to bail out back into the real world. After nearly a year of unemployment (though helping my former PhD supervisor with a book chapter), I found a quality assurance position with no relation to what I'd done in the previous 8 years. I've been in that position now for ~6 years, staying because of job security.

I'm not alone in this as I know of a polymer engineer who after finding himself on a series of post-docs, decided to jump ship and train to be an airline pilot where he now has a career. I'm sure there are others who feel the same too (I wonder how Delta is doing).

I DO NOT REGRET THE PhD all the same as it gave me the chance to do something original and ground-breaking in my chosen field. If I had my time over, I would still opt to do it (though a certian young lady at the time could have changed that) with the one change being not to do that second post-doc. However, my PhD was that niche, I believe I'd have faced the same problems eventually.

My advice is to always have a fallback Plan-B, so that if things go wrong you can take another path. It may be you might have to look at some sort of retraining to change direction and make yourself more employable. That thought I have to admit has gone through my own mind.

Ian (Mackem_Beefy)