I'm really unsure as to what to do career-wise, so I thought I'd just talk to you guys in the hope that it'll help me get over my current malaise.

I graduated from the King's College London in 2004 and got a 2:2 ,which I thought really wasn't that good. So I went on to do a Master's at Sussex University. Graduated October 2005 5% short of a distinction, which really irked me, but at least I had a MSc under my belt. Both courses, by the way, were life sciences with a molecular biology bent. Now since then, I've been applying regularly to PhD courses and basically just research jobs. Now, I'd say I'd have a below 50% success rate at landing an interview, close to 10%, which is why I made a lot of applications. Interview success rate, however, was zilch.

In 2007, I got a job, a low paying job in a data management company that managed to trick me into thinking there was actual data entry involved. In 2008, I got promoted to the position that I thought I was applying for (but wasn't). However, this job is soul-crushing and my application success rate started to dry up around this period. After royally screwing up an interview in the Summer of 2008, I got a huge bout of depression that stopped me from applying to anymore. I've lost contact with my referees now.

Here's my question. I'm thinking of applying to a new Masters course, so I can get back into academia and doing what I love best. The hope is that I will be able to get new referees that will enable me to start applying again and possibly getting a far more satisfying career than the one I'm in now. Is it a lost cause?

There's another problem. My background knowledge is just too generic. I regularly read NewScientist, and as a result, I know dribs and drabs from all sorts of things, but not enough in depth. The choice is bewildering. I wouldn't mind being in any of these: researching biofuels, virology, immune diseases, stem cell research... It's all good to me.

I have doubts that my problem will be resolved, but at least I hope I can discuss things with people.

P.S. Has anybody noticed that the 'character countdown' box has 'character' mispelt with an O?

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I just sent him my CV and (kindly) said I know you've probably forgotten me by now but I need a reference for a job. It was a bit difficult to track him down as he was retired, but he still provided it within a couple of weeks. I'm pretty sure non-retired academics are obliged to provide a reference.

Many thanks for pointing out the error we will try and fix it soon.

PGFT

I certainly don't see why it would be a problem to get back in touch with referees after a break - it must happen all the time, what with people working, travelling or having kids in between periods in academia. When I applied for my MA, I was reliant on references from people I hadn't spoken to in 10 years! So if you're going to do another Master's, do it for academic reasons (e.g. improving subject knowledge, becoming more specialised, going all-out for a distinction), not because you're just worried about having been away for a while.

Have you consider a research Master's as a stepping-stone option - something that's not just another Msc but might be easier to get on to than a PhD? (Sorry if that's an ignorant suggestion and that's just not how it works - the sciences aren't my area.)

In your shoes, rather than write off a whole year and who knows how much money to pursue another Master's, I think I'd focus in the first instance on getting as much good advice on PhD applications as possible - be that asking institutions that have turned you down for feedback, asking your referees to look over your proposals, or whatever. It might be that a a few weeks or months spent getting your applications as strong as possible would do you more good than collecting another qualification. And maybe there are other, less drastic things you could be doing to make your CV look more impressive - e.g. I wonder if doing some sort of teaching work (private tutoring?) might give you an edge over other candidates; or if you could emphasise the 'transferrable skills' you've gained in the workplace? (Part of being a successful PhD student, after all, is being someone who can work in a team, manage their time, manage projects, handle admin, deal with other departments/institutions, use IT effectively etc.).