Dear all, I'm a phd student in Italy; and next month I will finish 3 years phd with 2 publications....I'm very confused what to do in my future; I really want do reasearch! but outside Italy..the problem is that I do not feel ready and I'm thinking of applying for a PhD abroad .. what chances I have?
thanks for help!

I think you will find it difficult to get another PhD when you already have one. Why not apply for a postdoc? IT will be pretty similar to a PhD I think

If you have the money to fund the entire PhD yourself then you will probably manage it. If you want some form of funding, then I'm afraid you've got no chance. It would be very hard to justify why you want to do another PhD instead of doing a postdoc, and as competition is fierce already then I would imagine universities would much rather take on a 'new' PhD student rather than someone who already has one.
Why do you think you need another PhD rather than starting a postdoc? You say you're 'not ready', but if you have a PhD already then working as a postdoc is pretty similar. The only real difference is that you're expected to work independently and you don't have to write a thesis at the end of it!

thanks for the answers!I spend my phd almost indipendently...and this is the first reason because I feel non "ready" for a foreign post.Doc..second problem is the numeber of publications..I think that 2 (1 in submission) is not a good results for foreign competition...I know that the majority of phd out of Italy last 4 or more that 4 years and students have to publish at least 2 paper...tanks for answers!

A second PhD is not a good idea for a few reasons.

1) Funding is unlikely for a second PhD, however, I'll admit you may find it easier obtaining funding if the second PhD is in another country.
2) The 'perpetual student' or 'overqualified' tag will reduce your employability. This will apply more to non-academic jobs admittedly, but even academia will question this.
3) You may be denying a place for a new candidate to have a go at a PhD, a very good reason for an academic institute to turn you down.

Aside from this, do you really want to put yourself throught the stresses of another PhD?

Look for a post-doc and you will get the chance to do research without the insane hours needed for write-up.

If you're worried about the number of publications you have, why not look at turning your PhD into papers to send to journal to improve your chances of gaining a post-doc position?

If you get a post-doc, you generally find you're a lot less tense than during PhD. If you were ready to do another PHD, then you are ready for post-doc.

Ian (Mackem_Beefy)

As Ian said above, I strongly discourage you from pursuing another PhD. I will be a bit harsh here because you need to wake up.

Understand this. Many grads at the age of 21, having no idea what they want to do with their lives, still have to go out to the real world and learn how to write a CV and cover letter, how to convince your employers that you are the right person in interview, buy a house in such a volatile market (25 years commitment!). Believe it or not, most of those grads do absolutely fine. All right, some need time to figure out, some decide not to pursue the traditional career paths, but by the time they turn 40, most are living and enjoying life just fine!

Academia offers comfort to many who can't decide what to do with their lives. The truth is that most do a Master's because they are not ready to face the labour market and do a PhD hoping to delay the entry to the labour market for another 4 years. It's time you stand on your own feet. This has gone long enough. The admissions committee should buff up - make the admissions much tougher and accept maybe 2 - 3 each year and offer exit options at the end of year 1 and 2.

Worse, what would your prospective employer think of you (that is if you get invited for an interview)? 2 identical PhDs - clearly running away from the real world, spent 4 years and came out with 2 papers, foreign candidate who is unlikely to be popular among his students because of his accent, and finally he is older than other candidates and not in a good way. Good old candidates come with maturity and sophistication. You on the other hand seem quite childish still.

Continued from the previous post,

I would even suggest if your university is not in this list, do not offer PhD or any research programmes because such degrees from other universities are completely worthless. LSE, Oxford, Cambridge, Bristol, Warwick, Lancaster, Edinburgh, Imperial, St Andrews, UCL and Southampton. This will make the academia as a proper and comfortable job market where academics focus not on office politics and grant applications, but on the pursuit of what they believe their discipline needs.

What academics often do not understand is they think the increase in the number of PhD programmes and students in the world increases their chance of landing a full-time job. It actually does the opposite. It's your fault that you don't have a job. Interesting, isn't it? People talk about the greed in the City. What about academics who are driven by short-term goals and greed?

well, i do agree with the rest. u should try to get a job ASAP. it's time for u to start life and gain financial stability.

still, it's ok if u wanna do a 2nd phd but do it part time. maybe, for the fun of it? :)

i'm doing it for the sake of being in the research community. after a day's work of debating over ROI and what not, it's quite refreshing to attend a class on epistemology where argument is made just for joy of knowledge.

Ciao
I agree that there is no need for you to obtain a second Ph.D, especially if the research topic is similar to what you have already done.
Focus on what you want and work backwards from there.
So you want a post doc/ fellowship position in Italy (or abroad)?
Well...
Can you ask your supervisor for contacts for a future research post? Sometimes lecturers still have leftover funds from a grant (or departmental funds) to fund research. Perhaps your supervisor knows someone who is interested in employing a postdoc. Have you tried applying for grants? Firstly to fund your own research and secondly to make yourself more employable (its a very useful skill). Have you had people contact you from your social media account or website?
Ask different professors in your department for opportunities.
Don't sit and look for answers on a forum. Be proactive and do something about it.
People with successful grant applications stand out from the crowd. Academic research is a competitive market. A candidate with a Ph.D and his/her own funds is an attractive prospect for University departments. Ask your supervisor to look at one of her/his grant applications. As I said, grant application is a skill and you need to apply to several before your successful.
Hope this helps to let you reflect on your situation and what you need to do in the future.

for me the phd was not a choice hoping "to delay the entry to the labour market for another 4 years" or because I had no idea what to do of my life. I was really sure about reasearch!and for this I started doing a phd...moreover I was young and I did not realize that the best was to made phd abroad; and now I'm afraid to be less prepared respect to foreign people apllying for a post doc.
this forum help me so much.I understand that the best for me is to apply for a post doc because i'm ready for it as i worked hard in this 3 years. maybe I have a poor CV respect to phd from USA good university but I had passion and and I desire to do this job.
thanks!