It is a sickener: you probably know (or know of) people that don't make half the effort that you would make given their opportunties.

I wish I had some useful advice, but it seems that you are already doing everything you can.

Things only kind of worked out for me, I finished doing my experiments and with around 8-10 months funding left I started writing up and looking for a post. Because of my situation over running was not an option and I worked really hard to complete the thesis. I applied for around 6 post doc jobs for which I felt I was reasonably qualified and had only one interview. I also applied for a lecturing post which I didn't think I had a snowballs chance in hell of getting due to a lack of experiance and having not completed the PhD.

cont ..

A year or so later I find myself in an interesting position, despite the first draft of the thesis being finished a year ago, I'm still making changes and preparing to submit and viva in the next few months. I got the job and with the pressures of a first year lecturing with full time table I've had very little time to work on the PhD and with a result I feel I've become distanced from it in a way that I didn't think was possible. I've been on leave for 3 weeks and have spent most of it working to get back into the work I've done ready for the thesis defence.

Reading though I keep thinking I have found holes in my work which are actually not there, it seems so long since I wrote the work.

My advice would be, don't worry about the apparent lack of jobs. The jobs market in post docks and other positions seems to go crazy between now and September as staff come back of holidays and try to push things though before admissions.

cont

Also avoid if at all possible taking a job while your still working on your PhD, its really hard to finish off the thesis when you have something else which requires your attention. The difference it makes dedicting only a few hours of your day to something rather than the vast majority of your waking hours is amazing.

Best of luck in your search,

Tiggs

Piglet summed up my thoughts perfectly, but I refused to start blaming myself. Instead I concluded that the academic system is highly flawed, favouring contacts and political gamesmanship rather than scholarship (the true thing we are being paid for).

I have been temping now for months and I have started to think my PhD was a total waste of time and effort, insofar as satisfaction in itself and job opportunities. I am also aware that if I do get an academic job (and thats a big if), job security will be minimal as will pay and I will be on the fixed term contract merry go round for a long, long time.

Not sure where to go from here.

I feel I must apologise for opening a can of worms here and getting people down with this thread. I'm just so frustrated after investing so much time into not just the PhD but before that with my A levels and then first degree in order to get to the PhD stage. I'm proud to have got through last few years and pleased to find out I can cope well under pressure and have more perseverance than I thought possible (even when reaction 22 fails I can get on with reaction 23 etc.) I think the fact that I'm still sane is down to my very understanding girlfriend of 4 years (doesn't do a PhD or a job that is related to mine in any way, a relief for conversations ) On a lighter note it's her birthday soon and I want to get a really great present, just not sure what although she's been hinting about a ring...

Don't feel you have to apologise for starting this thread, Andy. As I said, having a big fat whinge makes me feel better. This is the perfect place to say what you feel, good or bad.

So often I am faced with people I know swooning out of their PhD straight into a prize post-doc position with no effort whatsoever. I want to strangle them. It may be my imagination, but I feel everybody I know is thinking "What is wrong with Piglet? She has a PhD and can't even get a job".

I have enjoyed the opportunity to share my pathetic story, so thank you for this thread, Andy...I am Piglet and I can't get a job.

Sorry to hear of your job-hunting hell, Piglet. I can only send lots of sympathy and not much else. I know I'm very lucky - not only do I have a few potential post-docs (funding dependent) but I've also been offered short-term contract work for as soon as I'm available from quite a few different people. No permanent jobs obviously... it doesn't work like that in academia :o( Certainly my partner has done 4 post-docs back-to-back (started earlier than I did & a bit older), and very frustrated with the difficulty of getting anything permanent, and always worrying about where to get the next batch of funding/post-doc. It's not right how badly academics are treated, or how badly PhD's are considered in the job market. If anyone knew how much it takes to do one, they'd snap us all up - it takes a lot of hard work, self-motivation & much more - making us gems to employ rather than lumping us at the bottom of the employability pile. Hmmm.

dear Piglet, unfortunately we happen to do our PhDs and look for jobs in academia in times when academics and academia are not valued highly as it used to be some while ago. But dont give up:)

I think you've hit the problem on the head there, SeaBird: it's the temporary nature of these positions that causes the likes of Piglet to be doing menial work despite being highly skilled. It doesn't seem like there are any research positions that last longer than 3 years: no government seems willing to earmark money for long-term posts.

Besides keeping the likes of us in limbo, suerly this attitide means that research quality will be compromised? You have to rush through everything in the project in a certain time limit: making errors far more likely, I would think.