Hi everybody. I am new to this forum so if i'm asking questions that can be found elsewhere, feel free to let me know! I graduated from the University of Liverpool in June 2008 and have found it very difficult to find a job that i want to do. I've slowly realised that i miss university (well, learning) and so i am thinking about looking for a PHD. I studied Maths with Finance where the maths side consisted of a lot of statistics. However my interests are really varied but when searching PHDs i am unsure whether i'd be considered as just under half of my course contained finance modules. So i'm basically looking for some advice on how to go about searching for a suitable PHD and any other general help. Feel free to ask me any questions!

Well the first question is whether or not you can fund a PhD yourself, if not there are two options:
1) look for a funded project you feel you are able to do
2) decide on what you would like to do a PhD in (formulate your own research project) then apply to universities with appropriate supervisors and seek funding through a research council.
If you don't know what you want to do at all, then you may be better off considering a Masters first to give you a clearer idea!

Hi sleephead, thanks for the reply. I'll be looking for a funded project. I was ideally going to apply for a studentship at Liverpool uni but none have come up yet. What are the chances of obtaining funding from a research council?

Research council funding can be tough to get - but normally any university that accepts your application will assist you in refining the project to appeal to the research council. Obviously though you would need a clear research proposal - and more often than not a first (although people with lower grades do still get the award - there are loads of people on here who have done precisely that!)

Briefly, I think your reasons for wanting a PhD are slightly problematic if they are primary reasons. Trust me, these factors are the ones that become important in the marathon called a PhD. If the love for university and the lack of a job have led to this decision, you may want to reconsider.

Hi Phdbug, thanks for replying. It's the subject i miss rather than university. It seems doing something i enjoy in addition to gaining more qualifications will open up doors in the future for me. However i understand where you're coming from so thanks for the advice. Sleepyhead, i have a first and i'm interested in financial mathematics but if there was something different that is interesting to me, i would consider applying for it. I guess the next step is to look into some potential research projects!

Have you considered going for a masters first? My current supervisor was also my masters dissertation supervisor. I found that having a good working relationship with him already established really helped in the process of coming up with a research idea and applying for funding. It might also give you a better chance at PhD funding if you have proven research experience. Plus you can do it in a year, and its muuuuch cheaper :-)