Yesterday, I met a friend that I haven't seen for a while and was surprised to realize that 2 years after graduating, she hasn't got a job and so continues to work, part-time, in a call centre where she was working whilst doing her PhD. Isn't this sad and how widespread is this sort of scenario? Her PhD is in politics. I told her to enrol on a PGCE (with a view to teaching either in the secondary or in the FE sector), seek non-academic jobs in universities, the civil service, NGOs or go down the route of graduate entry level jobs rather than staying put in a £6.50 p/hour call centre job. Am I being cynical or wouldn't working in a call center 2 years after completing her PhD count against her in academic job interviews? Let me have your thoughts!

That's absolutely terrible - if I was in your friends shoes I'd be feeling very angry and frustrated. I hate the emphasis put on getting a good education when too often things like this happen. If it were me I would think about retraining (as long as it was funded in some way).

======= Date Modified 14 Jul 2011 11:01:09 =======
While I appreciate the job market is tough, I do wonder to what extent the barrier to finding a non-academic job post PhD partly consists of lack of marketing of transferrable skills/putting the emphasis in the wrong place on job applications.

While admittedly the prospects in my field are comparatively good, both in and out of academia, I have no illusions about the fact that the PhD is not going to be the only thing that matters on my CV. I think it's possible to get so absorbed in the pursuit of it that one can lose sight of how much it means to other people compared to how much it means to you. In my head I imagine prospective employers looking at my CV, seeing a PhD and thinking 'Well, good for you, but what can you offer us?'

If I haven't got a postdoc job/fellowship lined up for when I finish, I intend to apply for relevant non-academic jobs pretty much in parallel to my academic applications, rather than waiting until I've had months of academic rejections etc. I think some flexibility of outlook is probably best.

Just my (possibly naive) thoughts though - interested in what other people think.

I hope your friend finds something that is appropriate to her skills and interests. It is a worry if you are the first person to suggest these options to her. Postgrad careers advice seems to be patchy - very focussed on how to market yourself for a career in academia but not enough support if that doesn't work out.

I think you're doing your friend a favour in pushing her to look at other options. It's my own subject area and everyone with any nous knows there are very few jobs and that competition for them is immense so you've absolutely got to have a plan B. If after two years she's not getting interviews then it's time to look elsewhere. Honestly my guess would be that less than 20% of Politics PhDs will end up in academia based on what I've seen. Unless she has publications in good journals i.e. is REFable, teaching experience and the ability to deliver on the REF impact measure, she will struggle. It's not new either - friends who graduated about ten years had exactly the same experience. .

I agree, explore other options as you describe. However, one point is she may be seen as overqualified for graduate entry. I explored this option whilst I was on the dole after my second post-doc and was told exactly that.

Has she also considered the time honoured strategy of hiding her PhD and referring to the PhD period as a 'fixed term Research Assisstant's position'? Many employers see this qualification and think either you're going to be off as soon as something better comes along or you belong in academia. The number of interviews I got increased when I staretd doing this with the agreement of my former PhD supervisors.

Finally, the comment has been made below about selling yourself on the basis of 'transferrable skills'. Is she selling herself properly, referring to skills gained, results achieved and what she and her skills base can bring to a business or organisation?

Good suggestion but sadly, sometimes that's not always possible as a google search may flag it up. Best to check yourself against google first. It's good your supervisors were sympathetic to your situation.

======= Date Modified 15 Jul 2011 11:51:58 =======

Hmm, that's an argument in favour of ticking the privacy box on submission of your final hard-bound thesis to buy yourself time to get on the employment ladder. Google will show up results from your University's open repository and also in the future from the British Library's Ethos website.

Out of curiosity, I've just googled my own name and my thesis shows up on the first page of results. The same applies alarmingly if I just search for my University's open repository (without my name)!!!

That said, you'll be surprised in how many instances checking Google doesn't occur to people so taking the risk might still be worth it. Some will, no doubt of that. That said, I'd be sympathetic to such a situation having been through the process.

======= Date Modified 15 Jul 2011 13:19:27 =======
Having struggled to get on the employment ladder in the past, I long since saw the as an option and was going to use it. Without my consent, and much to my horror, my details were put online.

I can't remember exactly but it's a very high percentage of employers that now google search potential employees.

Thanks for all the responses. My friend tends to believe that doing a PhD would secure her a tenured academic position and has, therefore, exclusively been focusing her job search within the academia. I can tell she was dismissive of my suggestion that she should retrain, e.g. by doing a PGCE. Actually, if she had enrolled last year, she would have been funded. But, from this September funding for several PGCE courses (including PGCE Citizenship which her existing qualifications in Politics would easily get her into) have been axed. So, she would have to foot the bill if she goes on it now. Besides, I guess it's already too late to get into a PGCE which starts this September. Personally, I noted that apart from conference presentations/proceedings, she hasn't really published anything, despite the claim to the contrary. For me, conference proceedings aren't the same thing as peer reviewed articles in high impact journals. This leaves me wondering if she's really realistic.

Yes, google doesn't help matters when it comes to not declaring the existence of the PhD. But how would an employer view this if and when they come to know. wouldn't they feel like "what else could s/he the hiding from us?" Just a thought!

...and one I agree with. I've always been very honest with potential employers in the past (sometimes to my cost) but getting found out is a concern.