I'm now trying to work out what I want from a career. Being in a small company has introduced my to so many roles I had not considered before GMP lab manager, Quality assurance, consultancy. I've also gained transferrable skills for product development which are not dependent on a particular technology.

Hi,

About a year and a half ago I wrote a blog post entitled "no job for 5 months". I remember feeling depressed at the time. In my mind I had done all the right things (working hard for my degree and then completing this momumental task that is a PhD). Why then after submitting 300 plus C.Vs did I not have any work? I felt I'd let my wife, child and myself down.

Before I start on the conclusion I would like to mention the previous thread. Nearly every week someone has replied to the original post. I think this topic resonated with so many people.

In the end I was unemployed for 8 months. It almost broke up my marriage, my self esteem was shattered, I was working so hard sending out C.Vs and not getting any responses. I felt isolated and alone and questioned what I had done wrong.

In the end I was employed by a small company 150 miles from my home as a development scientist. During the week I now live locally to my job and at weekends see my family. It has been tough, very tough on my personal relationships. I miss my wife and not being able to read my daughter stories at night. However, there is so much more work In the London area, much more than in my city.

I wonder if I should now change my title to 8 months and still no job. Other students doing a PhD in my office are now lecturers. I've got papers and a patent and over 15 rejections where I didn't even make it to the interview stage of a postdoc interview. I'm really starting to lose motivation now.

I believe one of my main strengths is communication (ENFP) and hopefully it comes across that I would fit well into a group. I personally feel that there are just so many good candidates out there at the moment and very limited budgets due to the recession.

I have so many thoughts going through my mind at the moment. I remember being 14 years old and being inspired by scientific discovery, as I'm sure so many others on this forum were, we really thought we could make the world a better place! So much hope and optimism.

So, I chose what I thought was going to be "the skies the limit career". Like everybody here I worked hard for my GCSE's, A-levels, degree and then postgraduate study. I'm sure we can also testify that a PhD is no walk in the park. However, I'm now virtually bankrupt, do not own a home for my family and have no pension. So, was it worth it?

I think if I would have got a postdoc position and then moved on to that elusive lectureship position then yes probably. However, I've known so many people get into postdocing only to find funding runs out and they never make it be lecturers.

I often get the "sliding doors" syndrome. What would happen if I would have........
I think personally the best option would have been to get onto a graduate scheme with say Glaxo which would have trained me for an actual role in the company. I'm sure it would have really carried weight with other companies as well.

To my 14 year old self what advice would I give? Probably to stop being so starry eyed and to think of practicalities. However, it just makes me upset thinking that I have become so bitter.

Update: I've now signed up with a teaching supply agency for cover supervision. If I manage to earn £500-£600 pounds a month to cover my childcare costs I would be happy.

I was turned down from 6-7 post docs without even an interview before I was finally invited to one. I spent the whole week preparing and it seemed to go well but I didn't get the position. There were 6 people going for the position so I suppose I would have to get at least three interviews before I could guarantee getting something.

Thanks for all the reply everyone. I would love to do volunteer work but I have 2 children so can not afford this option. I have kept applying locally for every science job I can find and still have not had an interview. I've also been applying nationally for my specialty and I may potentially have one interview but it is not confirmed yet. If not next week I'm going to the job centre to get any work I can cleaner, call centre etc.

Hi,

I graduated from my PhD in July 2013. Since then I have tried everything I can to get a job or a postdoc position. I started by looking for local science jobs using websites such as indeed, totaljobs and reed. At the same time I looked nationwide for postdocs in subjects close to my own PhD subject Biomaterials. I've also used keywords related to my subject to find the few companies working in my field. I've applied directly to Astra Zeneca and Johnson and Johnson.

The closest I've had is one interview for a postdoc position but unfortunately I was unlucky. Is it just me or is it difficult to get a job after completing a PhD? During my PhD I was working in a Dental School and I've become envious of the 98% employment rate after graduation. I'm trying to think about what else I could try. Possibly, train to become a patent attorney or a science writer.