Thanks for the replies. Yeah, I think when it comes to it (I still have almost 4 years left) I will just have to go with whatever is available, which could well be something in a university.

Hi, I am currently doing a PhD with a molecular biology/genetics basis. When I finish, I really want to work in a university and eventually be a lecturer. The PhD I'm doing is in Rothamsted Research Institute, not a university. Will this severely affect my chances of ultimately becoming a lecturer in a university? Here in Rothamsted it is kind of like doing an office job, good applied science, not academic in the traditional sense.

Howdy, this is not my first set of questions, the ones I asked in the past fall more into the "what PhD should I do?" category. I have now got onto a PhD (for completeness it has a basis in molecular genetics of a fungus) and I really just wanted a little advice. What should one expect from the first few weeks of a PhD? Considering I have very little in-depth knowledge of what I will be studying. Are PhD students expected to try and publish research prior to their thesis? If they do not, is this a problem? How hard is it to find employment when nearing the end of your PhD, is there still a lot of competition or are there generally more places than PhD holders?

Any advice would be most helpful.

Mark

Basically, I want to do a PhD with a focus on molecular genetics and have applied for several that seem to span a broad range of topics. When I finish, I would quite like to go into areas such as stem cell biology, cancer genetics, I mean basically anything to do with human genetics. I was just wondering whether if you did a PhD on genetics of wheat or bacteria for instance, this would send you down a particular route that would make it difficult to get into work in human genetics, maybe as a clinical scientist. I mean if you do a PhD that teaches you how to analyse the genes of one organism, does that mean you have to spend your whole career studying that particular one? Would it be more advisable for me to hold out until next year and apply again if I don't get onto one with an emphasis on human genetics?
I know it seems a rather odd/naive question, but hey, I am odd and naive.

Mark