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No Job 5 months after graduating.

Quote From AndrewPetelov:
Hi fellas.

Same sh*t here. I came to the conclusion that it's time to get more rational.

They always say: "Oh c'mon dude don't give up, all problems are in yourself, keep trying and you will find what you want or even better ..." and all such rubbish.

This is a common misconception. We are scientists, we gotta think rational. If there is such a tremendous, ridiculous and totally senseless lack of positions and a reciprocal number of candidates -- what's the deal after all? It's like if you did some experiment which hopelessly didn't show the result you desire and you were trying to "process" the data in all possible ways to show correlation while there is none. It's all bullsh*t like from those funny pastors and motivation speakers.

This is frankly and honestly just time waste, stress and loss of self-confidence. I decided to just stop f*cking j*rking off and looking for a job which I never ever get.

In this world, there is one and only way to land a good job (at least in academia) -- through bed ... ooops ... relations. Ask your PI or other connections, only they can promote you. If you found a not so good PI like I did, well, pull yourself together, ask anyway. Or stay at home and whine.

Regards,
Andrew


PI?

T

Principle investigator AKA supervisor

Cheers ToL, I kept thinking Magnum PI funnily enough-!

A

Guys, my brain is f*cked up. Can barely sleep. Will likely get an invitation for an interview soon (thanx to my network it must be smooth). This is industry ... By the time I asked my acquaintance for that, I had been broken as you can see from my first message. Suddenly, one of the PI's, which I inquired about fellowships, replied. I pulled myself together and sent an application. By no chance do I receive feedback earlier than the decision on my appi in industry is made. I love science, I wanna publish, I only applied for industry cos I was broken. What should I do now? I fear not being able to return after a "real" job ever.

A

Keep getting rejections. I'm gonna beat the OP and become the "best" here. Epic fail guy I mean.

B

Similar story here. I left a good job in industry to take a PhD and now feel less employable than I was before. 5 months since I submitted, 2 since the VIVA and still looking. Despite several papers, teaching experience and conference talks, I've received the same string of rejections, including being sent the rejection e-mail by York for a particular postdoc THREE times! I also got the impression in one interview that my experience in industry counted against me. It does help to use this time to assess what difficulties you're having RE getting a postdoc. In my field, most postdoc positions seem to require a computer scientist rather than a mathematician. I felt that my C++ skills weren't strong so I've been writing my Matlab codes in C++. More publications always help and my supervisor has at least allowed me to continue using the research group's facilities, so I'm working on a lot of projects. It also helps to top up the funds! I haven't taken a part-time job because... I could land a proper job any minute. So I seem to be working most of the time without actually being paid a penny, which is depressing in itself. As a result, my money is almost gone and I've applied for a university job as a "research associate," which doesn't require a PhD but is at least related to my field, simply because I need the money and it'll allow me to have a research position. I'd say that if you're going to hold out for a postdoc, keep in mind that it could take some time and take cr*p jobs while you wait it out without worrying about p*ssing people around by leaving 2 weeks later. I think it's also a good idea to set a timescale - I've decided that if I don't have an assoc. prof. position by the time I'm 35, I'll give up while I'm young enough to retrain.

H

Quote From Bry85:

In my field, most postdoc positions seem to require a computer scientist rather than a mathematician....
As a result, my money is almost gone and I've applied for a university job as a "research associate," which doesn't require a PhD but is at least related to my field, simply because I need the money and it'll allow me to have a research position. I'd say that if you're going to hold out for a postdoc, keep in mind that it could take some time and take cr*p jobs while you wait it out without worrying about p*ssing people around by leaving 2 weeks later.


I'm not sure what country you're based in, but in the UK a 'research associate' position is basically a postdoc job. Occasionally the entry requirements at that grade are relaxed to admit non-PhD postgrads with adequate experience, but essentially 'Research Associate' is the grade that most newly qualified PhD candidates would expect to go in at.

Sorry if you already know this, but from your post it sounded as though you thought this was something different.

A

I am sick of these stupid rejections. The free market has decided: they need an army of cheap PhD's and no one gives a single f*ck about postdocs and jobs in R&D's where allegedly people, who graduated, are required.

Where is this whole story going into?

Yeah I know I'm just a whiny little sh*tter and that's solely my problem that I'm not employed, that I don't s*ck someone's d*ck, that I'm not some big daddy's son etc. I'm tired of seeing WHO is actually being employed for the positions which I applied for. Man, no single journal paper, no teaching experience, sometimes without knowledge of English whatsoever! If I knew this situation, I'd have never gone into science.

Seriously! Let's us all abandon science! Man it's solely driven by PhD's and postdocs. If not them, we'd be in a Stone Age already.

Quote From AndrewPetelov:

Seriously! Let's us all abandon science! Man it's solely driven by PhD's and postdocs. If not them, we'd be in a Stone Age already.


YES!!! Can I recommend EVERYBODY definitely does PhD's in medieval history instead- THE ROAD TO FULL EMPLOYMENT!!!

Seriousy I do sympathise AP. Best of luck for something around the corner!

A

Over 60 rejections, over half a year of meaningless search, not even single invite to an interview. I'm getting suicide thoughts fellas.

C

Sorry it's so grim, Andrew. If you're having intrusive suicidal thoughts, please get some support and talk to someone. I know it's the job situation and lots of people are in the same boat, but if you're feeling that bad, it can only make the whole situation look and feel worse. Give yourself a break, seek support and do some stuff that will make you feel better in the first case. I hope you feel better soon.

Hi Andrew,

It may help, to google mathematician "Yitang (Tom) Zhang" who couldn't find a job in academia for years after his PhD. But he eventually managed to solve a pretty long-standing problem bringing him many prizes and a high respect in the field.

I mean, not finding a job right after the graduation that suits to our expertise is what we are all worried about. But may be you can give it more time. Finding a job in some other areas, in other countries with a lower salary, is an option too. I know there are lots of countries that are very welcoming to foreign researchers. They can not pay you a high salary, they may not be able to provide the best facilities but they can offer you adventures(e.g living in tropics) and less stressful life. This buys you time to improve your CV and expand your professional network.
Hope you find your dream job soon.

H

Quote From chickpea:
Sorry it's so grim, Andrew. If you're having intrusive suicidal thoughts, please get some support and talk to someone. I know it's the job situation and lots of people are in the same boat, but if you're feeling that bad, it can only make the whole situation look and feel worse. Give yourself a break, seek support and do some stuff that will make you feel better in the first case. I hope you feel better soon.

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

P

Quote From AndrewPetelov:
Over 60 rejections, over half a year of meaningless search, not even single invite to an interview. I'm getting suicide thoughts fellas.


AndrewPetelov, please find a way of getting out of those thoughts. Every single one of us posting here is in the same boat. Start anything: volunteering, private tutoring in a subject of your choice (I did. It's great money in hand and you're interacting with people - eventually you'll find you're more and more in demand for tuitions! It might not be exactly what you're looking for - but, and from someone who now tutors quite a few young adults - it's rewarding and it's effing fantastic money!), anything to stop you eating away at your own thoughts. Unemployment sucks massively. But you're valued!!!

A

Thank you very much for the support guys. I am actually employed. But it is the same uni where I a graduated from. If the things go on this way, I end up in unemployment anyway. This sux badly. I feel being unable to jump off.

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