I have completed my PhD after 4 years. I have not published yet. I feel useless because at this time I can't contribute to the RAE, this effectively means no-one wants to employ me. I am now wondering whether all that angst and suffering during the PhD process was worth it - someone please tell me it was!!!

Absolutely, it was so worth it. Ok you haven't published yet, but you have lots of time. Do you have anything that you are preparing for publication or is in press? I would suggest maybe starting work on something if you do not. How about one of your PhD studies?

Publications can take ages (depending on which journal you submit to) and people will understand that. Obviously some research projects take years to complete depending on data collection etc so it is obviously not an overnight process.

Do you have any poster presentations that have published in abstract form in journals? Some I have presented do this and present them in a special edition of the journal. Although this is not the same as a written paper, it still counts as a publication.

Don't lose heart and perhaps take some time to think about what you might be able to write up without too much hassle as a starting point.

Yep, I have got the post doc blues really bad, and am in a similar situation to you, trying to find work and chart my course after doing my PhD.

You are not the only one. My advice is to try to write up something for publication (anything, even your lit review) and start sending it out. The sooner the better.

In the meantime I am looking for temp jobs to keep me afloat (been doing this all afternoon), but so far have been deemed overqualified. I might start lying and just using my bachelors degree (anyone else done this before).

I am in a similar boat. I have applied for soooo many jobs in the past 8 months, but have not even had a single interview. It is downright depressing and my self-belief and confidence is in tatters.

My PhD field is very narrow (I know people look at it and say "Can you even do a PhD in that?") and there is no research in this field in my city. So, no choice but to apply for jobs in other fields and try to convince employers that my skills can be applied there. Yeah, right!

If I apply for research jobs appropriate for someone about to be awarded a PhD, I am unsuccessful because I have an obscure background. If I apply for less-demanding jobs, I get "You are overqualified" comments. I can't win. I am willing do anything if someone only I got paid to do it and I got to go to work each day. I am so far beyond the "My PhD was a waste of time" thoughts that now I am questioning why I even went to university at all.

Thanks so much for your replies. I have sent one paper to be considered for publication but I'm just going to keep trying, its mainly a confidence thing, feeling that you aren't good enough! I sympathise so much with those of you in the same boat we go through so much to get the damn thing then we realise its not quite what we thought it was. I would be interested to know how your job searching goes, perhaps we could all collaborate on writing up the post doc experience and enhance all our careers!