Hey!
I'm wondering if people know of any websites to search for postdocs in the UK and/or Canada specifically in social science.
I've searched amongst the usual suspects (jobs.ac.uk etc) but there is very little. I'm wondering if i'm missing some big website where they're all posted on.
Thanks :)

Hi,

I'm actually from the North East and I can assure you that Middlesbrough is a great place to be.
Crime is high, poverty is high but Teessiders are exceptionally warm and fun people to be around. Teesside university has an amazing community feel and lots of student opportunities.

I have spent many years living in Middlesbrough and I would live there again (currently overseas but hoping to get back soon). Please note that usually the North of England is depicted in a very negative light. There is a huge North South divide in the UK and unfortunately the North gets a bad name, but I would pick Teesside any day of the week over other parts of the UK.

Anyway, I hope you took the position and are enjoying life in the 'bozza'. UTB! (Up the Boro).

i'm a final year phd student and i'm currently applying for some jobs however i'm in my 20s and have never had an academic position. My previous jobs have been retail assistant and a waitress.

How can early career researchers get employment without previous experience?

On my CV I have noted successful grants and awards, research experience during my MSc and PhD, 2 publications and that's all i've got. i've tried tailoring my cv and cover letter to fit the post (I do believe i would be good for the job) but I feel I am lacking in experience.

Any tips and advice on this?

I always thought a 1 year post doc was a waste of time until I said this to a well respected and successful professor with a lot of experience with post docs and she said that sometimes post docs are only a year as at first especially if the PI doesn't know the person. So the year will be a chance to show your skills and demonstrate that you're suitable to the role/research. Basically for some PIs they strategically only state it's 1 year, then they'll extend later on.
But of course there will be those post docs that are definitely only 1 year due to requirements/funding restrictions.

I would say go for it. It's experience at the end of the day. And any post doc is hard to get, so congratulate yourself and grab it with both hands :)

I'm a final year PhD student trying to navigate the post-PhD life terrain.
i've been advised that it's best to find a post-doc with a team that has already got a project underway and has funding as opposed to trying to get my own funding and start my own project.
The issue i'm having, and I think it's common is that HOW DO YOU FIND THESE POST DOCS? I've also been advised that they're not usually advertised. So i'm assuming you have to get in touch with PIs.

I do have some contacts, however there are some people that I would love to work with yet I've never spoken to them and they probably don't know who I am. So how OK is it to cold email them? Is it seen as cheeky to ask if they've got any positions on their projects?

Any advice would be great! Thanks :)

Hi all,

I’m looking for some advice and guidance from fellow PhD students in particular. I’m having those all too common feelings of being an imposter and not being good enough.
Do you find that all feedback from supervisors is always negative? The past six months have been heavy on the writing front, a lot of back and forth with supervisors and I’ve not had one positive comment. There have been some quite harsh words come back from some of my supervisors, along with some huffs and puffs and a lot of sighing at meetings, which has left me, in all honestly, very very low.
Whenever I send something to them now I feel physically sick waiting for their response. I am always expecting extremely negative comments - and that is what I always get.
Is this normal? Some friends have suggested they’re just being harsh to push me, and that all students go through this. But I don’t feel that it is a healthy approach. I also don’t know if I’d be able to manage this for another three years. Or the alternative thought is that I’m actually not good enough to do a PhD.
I’m one year into my studies and all I know is that I have A LOT of weakness and I’m really struggling to see what my strengths are.
Any advice or direction would be really helpful.
Thanks

Hi all,

I'm looking for some tips for writing my confirmation report and creating the presentation.
I know a lot of you guys have done great at this hurdle in the PhD journey - if you'd be so kind in sharing, that would be amazing!

I have the basics down, however i'm wondering if there's any key points I should include, something that makes it stand out.
My thesis (by publication) is social science, my methodology is interviewing. Potentially going to go down the path of social constructivism and feminism.
Any pointers on format, imagery, etc would also be appreciated.

Please let me know your ideas if you don't mind sharing!
Thanks!
Jane

Thanks for your advice Nad75. We've already discussed co-authorship which I think they're happy with - but I just want to make sure i'm first author as this paper will be part of my thesis. I've written a skeleton draft of the paper - i'm just trying to balance being first author and getting enough input and support from my supervisors as they're the experts at publishing. - plus i'm kinda feeling way over my head at the minute - I feel like i've no idea what i'm doing, and what i've written isn't the best quality (this is where i think everyone will find out i'm a fraudster and shouldn't be doing a PhD haha).

Evening all!

Just curious as to how much support I should expect from my supervisors regarding writing my first paper.
What are people's experiences with this?

Thank you in advance!
Jane

I'm a social geographer, so a big chunk of my thesis will be the literature review. My confirmation is in 5 months, so i've aimed to start my report by the end of June as I wanted to get my literature review started - although now i'm wondering if i should re think that plan.
Thanks everyone for your advice!

Thank you everyone for your advice and comments.
I've definitely taken on board what you have said and will try and set little targets of 300-500 words. I don't know why I didn't think of this before - I used to do it for my MSc but I think i've just become overwhelmed with the PhD and not known the best way to start writing.
My first step is the literature review - I think it's just daunting as you know you've got an upward climb of approx 60000-80000 words.

Thank you again!
Jane

Hi all,

I've hit that point where i'm feeling overwhelmed, out of my depth and don't know where to start with my thesis. I am 6 months into my PhD now and so far I have only done reading (a lot of it) and my ethics.

I'm getting the feeling that I should have started writing by now as my confirmation is in Oct. The aim is to start my literature review soon but I just wanted to see when everyone else started writing?

Should I have started by now?

The more I think about it the more I worry.

Thanks for your support!

Hi Bloop,

This is a very tricky situation to be in, but you hold all the power here. Remember that. I am a PhD student myself and something that my fellow students say to one another as a reminder (as we somehow always forget) is that this is YOUR PHD. You should be in the driving seat. You're doing most of the hard work. I agree that a nearly qualified academic may work harder to get you across the finishing line, i've seen that with my own eyes, however you would need a very experienced co-supervisor to support. I'm not sure what Australian universities are like but here in New Zealand some of my friends have 5 supervisors! I myself have three. Two very experienced supervisors and top academics in their field but also a relatively new academic who literally is by my side with everything I do. I am very lucky. Without a supportive and knowledgable team like that, i'm not sure I could confidently go on this long journey.

I've rambled a lot - but my advice to you would be not to settle. A PhD is a very daunting long road, and if you don't have a good strong team behind you, you may struggle and end up resenting the work you're doing.

Good Luck with your decision!

Hi All,

I'm looking for some advice regarding structuring my thesis. I am in my first year and haven't started writing yet, however I am getting to that point where I feel I need to start writing (read about 100000 papers haha).

I've looked at other peoples work who have been before me in my department, however everyones structure is just so different and sometimes it doesn't make sense.

My idea was as follows:
-Introduction
- literature review
- background/location (Im a geographer so i've got a particular location/case study)
- methodology
- analysis
-discussion
-conclusion

I am doing my thesis by publication and so far I have only figured out my first paper (part of the literature chapter) - following my qualitative research, i was going to publish papers on themes.

Any comments or advice would be amazing!

Thank you

Apologies, I meant no offence - I wasn't in a very good frame of mind yesterday. On reflection, I know I shouldn't have written that.

Englishlit92 - thank you for your advice, i'm going to follow it as I don't want to waste my time reading poor texts.