Nicely done. Congrats and all the best!

Everyone is different, but a skill you develop over the course of a PhD is how to set the tone of the conversation and how to make things move in the right direction when engaging apathetic or even resistant attitudes. Simply put you learn how to set the agenda. Sometimes it works, sometimes it does not. But with an issue as big as your research question, be receptive to ideas, but only you can see the big picture. Otherwise it will be a hard 3-4 years.

While as others have said, your lit review will occupy the bulk of your first year as a PhD candidate, you would do well to familiarize yourself with a few articles, seminal works, industry reports, etc which are key to your topic or area of interest. Looking back, my PhD proposal was utter garbage, but that's kind of the point and its understood that what you end up researching looks a fair bit different to what you originally proposed for entry into the University.

OFFTOPIC: In MY humble opinion, have a good idea about what you want to study, otherwise you may end up doing a PhD your supervisor fancies. The more focused you are about your topic, the less you will get 'pushed around' in your supervisory meetings. I'm not saying not to take good advice, that's what they are there for, BUT you also have to be able to stand your ground convincingly about the direction of your research. If you are doing a predetermined PhD as part of a cluster or project, the final paragraph does not apply of course.

Good luck though.

Conferences are always a plus, and sometimes will have some kind of publication of papers presented for the event. Even if not, publishing is significantly harder than attending conferences, so one would reasonably expect a candidate to have a few conferences under their belt with a much few papers (if at all) to their names. Now go network for that postdoc!

What Eds said, hard to go wrong with that.

Hey I will accept any action against me for my language and less than gentle approach to the situation as I found it...but to single out my family and imply what ever you were implying is now on another level. I don't play when it comes to those things.

Ok Andrew, since you are adamant.....what exactly did you mean that you were 'repelled by the national content' of the hiring committee? Do you not realize that those 'personal' feelings will come into play where ever you work? Regardless you will ALWAYS be faced with diversity...so according to you...you will be constantly repelled...so explain to me how that is not bigoted? How can someone with that predisposition be an effective educator in 2015????????????

To clarify...when I said 'checked' I meant it metaphorically when you 'check someone at the door' or 'check someone in a sporting activity' as in...halt their progress and issue a warning. Its a north american term, I lived in Canada as you know...so that's where it came from. So who has a limited understanding of English now...

I frankly do not give a shit buddy....but what I do know is there is a whole set of legislation (and action) at my disposal if you decide to take this outside of the forums. Again I will say...you are a fucking racist who claims to want to be an academic. With the levels of foreign nationals I teach and see every day, you will be repelled on a daily basis if a University ever makes the mistake of hiring you to do anything of significance.

And with that you are now reported to admins for what appears to be a mildly threatening post.

I'm sorry...but in the academic circles I am in....those types of off colored comments are absolutely out of bounds and rightly so as they are racist....and if you will much more specifically bigoted.

'Hardly speak English' - I would have let that pass prima facie, but then came the 'overpopulated' comment, and the nail in his coffin was was 'Repelled by the national content.' I am sorry, but if an entire demographic of people - who you do not know by the way - 'repels' you. You are a fucking racist. You are morally compromised. How could I trust you to objectively supervise a foreign national? How could I trust you as a lecturer to fairly assess students seeking to have you as their PI? You are compromised. I am sorry. GTFO.

LOL you keep falling into the trap by defending your rather despicable views, so I shall have to keep schooling you. I don't know if anyone has told you, but if you want advice, your first fuck up was not to publish before graduating (or shortly thereafter)....no excuses really if you are serious about academia. Now 4 years later and you are still in the same Uni in the same department? No publications yet? Well I'm afraid you are beginning to come across as somewhat of an undesirable (academic) inbreed, who is not really that serious.

The problem with people like you in their little racist box is that you will miss many opportunities because of your irrational disdain for what I can only assume is non-white, non-native English speaking immigrants. Hypothetically if you were a senior professor with an illustrious career and you were caught saying what you just said a few posts ago...you would lose everything and your life's work would be meaningless. So in actual fact, being a decent human being is wayyyyy more important than being a (hardly) brilliant racist.

You alluded that you had a really negative experience with an immigrant....so....who hasn't had one with a person of different cultural background? If you get food poisoning...will you be 'repelled' by food forever thereafter? Stop being a douche-bag dude. Like right now. You have a PhD so I know you know there is no defendable causation between your bad experience and your racism.

But I'll tell you what...with your attitude, you are very close to being an undesirable, bitter nobody, who will ultimately end up being irrelevant if you do not correct course. I would not want you as a research partner, colleague, nothing....regardless of your academic astuteness. Racism and bigotry is one of the most ugly things, and that kind of ignorance has no place in an academic's character.

And no I will not be exiting this thread because you need to be checked.

Not at all....just letting you know that as a relatively new member of this forum, you have not been here for even a year, that your racist bullshit wont fly. In fact I am surprised no one checked you yet. If you are upset at being a mediocre lab rat....don't take out your frustration on people who are clearly your betters.

TreeofLife you are a better man than I to actually give this Andrew guy advice. I cannot get past his bigoted ignorance to take his pleas for help seriously. And no Andrew, I am not offended, just calling you out for what you are. An ignorant racist.

That is insane (academia in Canada). 10+ papers, 2 post docs and you have trouble getting a permanent position? My goodness. Here in the UK you would fare muuuuch better.

Regardless, from the social sciences perspective you can absolutely move away from Academia and transition back. Seen it done successfully plenty of times.

I always say go with what you are passionate about, but when it comes down to putting food on the table then you will have to do what needs to be done. Aside from going directly into industry you can look at the industry related arms of government, and likewise NGOs as well as consulting. There is no way that an academic with 10+ papers and 2 post docs should feel out of options.

Best of luck ( I hate that freakin saying, but I really do wish you the best).

I see what you mean. There's consulting firms, the UN alphabet soup of orgs and obviously big firms in industry you could try to penetrate and apply your expertise to. You could come back to academia after working in the field some as I have seen professors do it where their 'real world' experience is definitely seen as a value added.

Other than that, if you are bent on academia right now, then its pretty much try to publish right now independently (daunting I know) or do the temporary teaching fellow gig. Sure its unstable but it gives you an in to the institutions and you will have to try to publish during the very little free time (holidays).

The REF is indeed a vicious double edged sword but its as a PhD you can get your £50-80k a year outside academia in your appropriate industry

Well at the bare minimum being pleasant and generally a likable person (in general), and I only say this because at the end of the day people must want you to join and stay in their department as a colleague, and search committees ask themselves to a greater or lesser extent "do I want to work with this person?"