Surely an entry level job in an industry where there was room to progress would be preferable to the current instability of supply teaching work?

You do not need to become a social butterfly in order to interact appropriately with interviewers and clients (in fact 'social butterflies' can be quite irritating in particular contexts). But you may need to recognise that your current approach is insufficient to convince people that you have adequate skills in that area, and be prepared to do something structured about improving that. Being an introvert does not preclude from this. See what relevant advice you can glean from books, courses, YouTube etc. Make the distinction between professional and personal identities and try to understand that the two do not need to be identical.

It does not sound to me that you are out of options. Rather it seems like your preferred option is very difficult to achieve (as it is for any PhD graduate - the academic job market is terrible) and you are not sufficiently enamoured with the alternatives to go for them wholeheartedly. Coming up with a plan B that you can fully commit to is likely to be of help here. It doesn't have to be a job that you will 100% love but you have to be engaged enough in the prospect to do what is required to secure a post.

*If* you want an industry job then there are things you can do to improve your chances if you are willing. But you should try to figure out if you really want one or else it's a waste of yours and the interviewers' time.

HE job would probably be more CV enhancing. IMO an admin job at a university isn't any different from an admin job elsewhere as far as academic credentials go.

If you were offered the HE role and accepted it I would make sure that the contract didn't preclude you from engaging in other employment opportunities.

If an interviewer (or several) said to you "You have many attributes that our sector would value but we can't hire you because you don't have [technical skill X]" would you sit there and accept it or would you consider developing that skill, be it a programming language or whatever? If you would consider developing a technical skill to improve your prospects, then why not a soft skill?

Different sectors require different combinations of overlapping skillsets. Some will rate the interpersonal skills side of things higher than others. Arguably these skills are easier (or less time consuming) to acquire than the high level technical competance. You have done the hard part already with your years of study. These companies aren't going to hire a 'bubbly' person who doesn't have the technical skills and knowledge.

You don't have to change your core personality, but you can consider changing how your present your professional persona to employers and clients.

It's unclear whether you actually want to work in industry or are just viewing it as a disappointing second choice. If you have a genuine interest in industry/consultancy work I'd recommend spending some time and effort developing the soft skills that are being specifically asked of you. Many of the people who have those skills were not born with them and have actively developed them over the years. Consider whether it might benefit you to do the same.

If you want to know whether they would consider your application the only way to find out is to contact them directly. Some adverts will actually say 'Must have a PhD or be close to completion'.

If you are interested in the role, and they don't deter you, then apply. If offered it, push for the latest possible start date.

Whether finishing a PhD while employed as a lecturer is something you want to do is also worth considering. It can be hard juggling dual commitments - try to get a feel for how supportive they would be.

It is a bit odd (and a bit unfair in my view) to be expecting people to be able to do this *prior* to the MSc but it is what it is.

I'm afraid I'm not able to give extensive advice at the moment due to circumstances, but if I were you I would liaise with the named supervisor as much as you can - phone if they don't reply to email within 24 hours as the timeline is so tight.

Probably the two things to focus on here are making sure that the study design is appropriate for the research question, and making sure that the proposal is appropriate for the time/resources available to an MSc student. The latter you will probably need a steer on from the supervisor.

Good luck!

I did a Masters and PhD in Epidemiology, though as separate programmes at different institutions.

It's quite unusual for advertised science programmes to ask for a research proposal at the point of application. May I ask which country the programme is based in and whether you are applying for a clinical or non-clinical funding pathway?

A mixture of savings, a short spell of employment as a research assistant in my department (who basically had to acknowledge that one of the reasons I was over-running was that I'd essentially been used as an analytic consultant for some of their collaborators), judicious use of a 0% credit card (which I have been very careful to pay off), and ultimately a full time quasi-research role in a public sector organisation, overlapping with the last 4 months of my writing up.

It was not fun, and it does not seem particularly fair that this is so common.

I'd agree if (i) it was a long established company one could be confident of progressing through and (ii) if there was a lot of variation in starting salary for technical-based positions requiring a PhD. But this is an outlier in terms of salary and doesn't sound like there is a well-established career structure within the company. I would query their approach to valuing staff skill sets, particularly if they can afford to open a second branch.

@cherub, you're right not to just jump in and take it because it is the first job that has come along. I would still, as I said, consider it as a 'starter job' that might be interesting and give you some experience, but consider it as a potentially shortish term option (up to 18 months). I definitely wouldn't buy a house on the basis of the assumption I might stay there, and certainly don't see any harm in renting for a while to be sure that one is in the right region/role, but that's just me.

As this is a discussion forum, more than a jobs board, you might be better off looking at academic listings sites such as findaphd.com. I'm not sure which have the best coverage for Australia though, but if you google 'PhD adverts Australia' you may come across something relevant.

If the role absolutely requires a PhD then £24K is low. Most technical post doc roles I know of are in the £27-32K range as a starting salary, regardless of where they are in the country or whether they are private or public sector. A friend who has just finished a Chem Engineering PhD has been offered £40K+ for an engineering consultancy job in the NW, though she did have prior experience with the company.

Cheshire will probably be cheaper than the SE but do check the specific area - it's also 'Footballer country' and there are some quite fancy/expensive areas.

I find it odd that just because they are 'starting out' they are looking for highly qualified people and paying them quite a way below the going rate. What is the incentive to someone to work there when they could take a research assistant job for more? It makes me wonder how well they know the sector? I would make enquiries as to whether there are yearly increments or any bonus/benefits, or plans to up the pay at a specific point.

I guess if it were me I would keep the option open as a back up plan as it's not a terrible scenario for a 'starter job', but still be keeping my eyes open for better paid roles with more established organisations. But that does rely on you being willing to relocate, and then possibly have to again within a short space of time.

I'd choose the fully funded option, unless you have some other source of funding that doesn't require you to be working substantial hours while trying to do your PhD (e.g. a wealthy family/spouse!).

Regrettably, the odds of you (or indeed most of us) of getting an academic job following PhD are so slim that it is not, in my opinion, worth forgoing 3/4 years of income/increasing one's student debt in the interests of gaining a qualification that has a high chance of not leading to the desired outcome. Do some research into the realistic job prospects in your field to check whether my broad assumptions are right for your area, but generally the odds aren't good. You might also want to consider cost of living in your calculations - I gather Oxford is not the cheapest place to live.

In terms of weighing up how things look on your CV, yes, there is institutional reputation to consider. But having received AHRC funding also makes you look good, particularly if applying to them in the future (funding bodies sometimes like to fund people they've funded before).

Two months is nothing in academic job terms. If you were offered a job tomorrow, I'd wager that it would take at least 6 weeks before you actually got to start it, paperwork being what it is.

Nobody said you couldn't apply for jobs while still funded, simply that you can't start a job and still be in receipt of your studentship without it causing issues.

Depending on what field you are in, I'd actually recommend starting to apply for jobs anything up to 6 months before submission, given how rare they are in some fields, and the odds of actually getting one.

It's not uncommon for people to start jobs (including academic jobs) before they've submitted/had their viva. But they usually do this because they need the income. There may be problems if you are still in receipt of funding, as that funding will probably come with the assumption that the PhD is what you're doing full time.

Is there a reason you want to start a job before your PhD funding has run out? That's a bit of an unusual situation to be in. I can see it potentially working if the PhD and job were in the same department, but if multiple departments/institutions are involved it might be more hassle than it is worth.

If it's because a job has come up that has caught your eye, apply for it and then see if you can delay the start date if you get accepted for it.

I agree fully with chickpea's advice.

I would add - make sure there is something in your life that you derive pleasure and a sense of worth from that has nothing to do with your professional/academic life such as a hobby, preferably one which is sociable. We all can be prone to defining ourselves solely by our academic status and ignoring the bigger picture of all of the things that make us who we are. Because most of us have the very difficult goal of an academic job it can be hard to see past that, particularly if one isn't forthcoming. But there are lots of other paths to a fulfilling work life, so don't pin your entire hopes on academia.

And do talk to someone outside of your situation about how you're feeling right now. Take care

Why do you want to do a second PhD?

You definitely couldn't do two simultaneously, firstly due to workload and secondly there might be issues with being registered at two institutions.

You could in theory start another one after your first is finished, but I'm not sure it is advisable.