I had no absolutely no passion for my PhD either. Although I enjoyed parts of it, the majority of my project was a very hard slog compounded by funding issues and lots of politics that nearly pushed me to quit. In the end the main achievement for me was the fact that I persevered and soldiered on! Would have been nice to feel proud of my results and thesis but I can't say I do (it does make a good door stop though Delta!). On a more positive note, even though I didn't hold much regard for my project, it has allowed me to progress onto a number of interesting post-doc positions that I really enjoyed. I'm sure that this will happen for you and it will all be worth it in the end.

Thanks very much! I finished my last job around 4 months ago but starting properly looking for a new job around Christmas time so it has taken me a while. I've been restricted to a location which is severely lacking in science jobs though so hopefully this won't be the norm for other job-seekers. It's an academic job & looks really interesting so I'm very chuffed & feeling very lucky.

Good news at last - I've got a job! I'm very relieved and surprised as I've had many knock-backs along the way. Good luck to all of you who are currently job seeking - don't give up and keep trying - something good will be around the corner. thanks for all your support and advice over the last few months.

just done it too. good luck

congrats on getting onto the PhD programme. I don't have much advice with regards to the university but I have been to Reykjavik a couple of times and it is one of my all time favourite cities. I'm v envious! It is very small considering it's the capital but it is full of character and really beautiful, as is the whole country which I'm sure you'll explore once your there. I don't know what to say about the culture other than there's a lot of interesting history and the Icelanders like to party and can drink most people under the table! Sorry, not much help but I'm sure you will have a wonderful time there.

Brilliant news Treefrog -really pleased for you!!!

Definitely not a stupid question! I've been applying for a variety of positions over the last few months but yet to find anything. I'm restricted by location unfortunately so this has limited my options considerably - the fact that you're willing to relocate will really help you out.

I've applied for a few post-doc positions in academia and industry where I've been a fairly good fit to the job requirements and have made it to the interview stage - unsuccessful so far although waiting to hear back from one. Also like Doodles, I've widened the net and applied for post-docs that are not completely in my field but have felt I have a transferable skill or overlapping experience that may complement the job - have never been short-listed for these roles but definitely think it is worth trying. I've also applied for post-docs which don't immediately look that attractive (very short contracts to cover maternity leave for instance) in the hope that getting your foot in the door might lead to more opportunities and networking experiences.

As far as research assistant roles, I also consider these and found one which seemed excellent - it was "permanent" and involved providing support for a number of projects plus helping out with student labs plus pay was quite good. Obviously loads of people applied and I didn't get short-listed which was a pity but to me this role looked even more attractive to the post-doc jobs that are going.

I've also been trying speculative applications to interesting companies but this has been fruitless so far. Should really try approaching academic labs for funding application collaborations but it is a bit daunting if you don't know anyone (I've just relocated to a new city).

Lots of luck to you

Hi Treefrog,
Was just reading your latest update and I'm really sorry to hear that the retail job is getting you down. I just wanted to add to the other posts to let you know that I'm also STILL in the same boat as you! Went for an interview for a really interesting post-doc position yesterday - went so so but would be very surprised if I get it as up against a lot of other candidates. I've never been the most confident of people but being unemployed has hugely magnified my inferiority complex. I'm doing some voluntary work to get me out of the house but like you I'm just a bit fed up with the whole situation - it has even driven me to mass lottery ticket purchasing (as mentioned by another poster!) and will soon drive me to drink!
Really hope things start to improve for you and all my other fellow job-hunters.

Brilliant!!! Really chuffed for you. Enjoy your well deserved celebrations!8-)

Lots of luck to pineapple and sozaboy. Hope the vivas go well for you today

Hi there, my advice would definitely be to wait for them to contact you. The fact that they've contacted your references is a really good sign and I'm sure an interview will be on the cards but it takes time to gather references from every short-listed candidate - a week isn't much time to achieve that. Also, it could be that the people on the interview panel are busy with other commitments at the moment - might be busy dealing with exams etc. I waited over 6 weeks before being invited to interview at a university recently and it was apparently because the panel were very busy and couldn't find a date that suited them all. In fact, so much time had gone past that I'd forgotten I'd applied for it! Hold tight & good luck!!

Thanks for the replies. I've always been of the same opinion as you all - only contact if you've got a valid question. However, I recently went to see a university career advisor who was shocked that I've never made use of an informal contact and recommended that I changed my ways. I wasn't convinced but then spoke with a person fairly high up at a university who said that all the people that had been employed in their lab had made some sort of contact prior to applying for the position. There's also an article in jobs.ac.uk which stresses the importance of making informal enquiries to make yourself known - apparently it gives the impression you really want the job.
I still don't like the idea of getting in touch for the sake of it but was just wondering if I was the only one who isn't doing it! Pleased to hear that I'm not! thanks

Congratulations Pam!!

Hi,
When a job advert includes a person that you can contact for informal enquiries, do you normally get in touch with them? I've done this a couple of times with mixed results ie. got a very nice reply from one and a bit of an offhand reply from the other.
It's obviously a good thing to do if you have a specific question about the vacancy but what if the advert covers everything? I've asked a few people this - some say that you should always get in touch to introduce yourself while others think that it is pointless if you have no specific queries. Any thoughts would be much appreciated - thanks!

I agree with PinkPiglet - I don't think you should worry about being stuck with plants. I think as long as you and your supervisor have an agreement on what you would like to work on then I'm sure it would work out fine. I was just reading about ER stress and human disease (mainly type 2 diabetes) recently and it's so interesting so your work would be topical and I'm sure very transferable should you wish to return to mammalian systems.