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Blimey that went by FAST! You'd think a PhD in Chemistry would help 😥
I now looking at part time, internships, basic IT, almost anything now, as it's really getting depressing!
I always thought the point of a PhD in a science was to carve a research niche that one of the Big Co.s will want to buy in.
What didi you do before your PhD or did you go straight into it from your Bachelors/Masters?
Research is a pyramid, fewer posts at the top
Tough going for 3 years, 6 months was hard for me, projects around the house, volunteering at archaeology digs kept me going
Any contact with the job centre, and particularly the sanction regime is hideously depressing, demoralizing and really knocks your self esteem, making you even less employable.
That's why projects outside of the system help ime
Professional cv writer ?
I don't know you but I have to ask. could it be you and not the skills you possess?
Have you been to interviews or not even a sniff?
Thought of retrading completely?
on and on - MemberI don't know you but I have to ask. could it be you and not the skills you possess?
Have you been to interviews or not even a sniff?
Maybe, the two post docs, and a career break as (cycle) workshop mechanic, while i tried to find stuff outside academia/abroad hasn't helped!
parkesie - MemberThought of retrading completely?
Absolutely, looked at publishing, media, considering other areas as well
So you've done a degree, a PhD, and two Post Docs...
How much time spent on those? And how many "career" roles have you had since then? How old are you now?
10 months (on and off).Will probably have to get one this month 😕
(cycle) workshop mechanic
During which time you were not unemployed, surely? Just not employed at whatever level you feel you deserve to be?
This may sound harsh but, what exactly do you think your phd should do. Lots of people have good qualifications. When I recruit someone I am more interested in the person and what they will add to the team, than their qualifications, they just help get the interview......so if you are not getting the jobs maybe look at what you are saying/doing at interviews, you are getting interviews?
CaptainFlashheart - Member(cycle) workshop mechanic
During which time you were not unemployed, surely?
No wasn't counting that, it was pretty good fun, this is post all of the above!
3 years working two days a week. Bloody great. Better than working full time. Luckily I have an understanding wife and happy kids.
Keep your chin up and keep pushing on. It may come to a point in time when you need to forget your trained skill and go for something else.
Have you considered contracting to get some experience ?
wasn't counting that
Ah. OK, got it! Sorry.
science and research as a career is woefully underfunded, and does not present a career path.
why employ an old, expensive postdoc with a life, when you can get fresh PhDs with no family who will work 60hrs a week for half the money? couple this with PhD students filling in the gaps, then if you haven't made it after 2-3 postdocs, then you're done.
would I let our daughter do a phd? nope.
If you have a background in chemistry you could do worse than looking into a career in H&S as a specialist in that area. It is relatively easy to get into and entry qualifications are inexpensive, quick and easy to gain. Starting out it won't exactly be well paid, but you can progress very quickly if you have the required attributes and drive.
bigrich - Memberscience and research as a career is woefully underfunded, and does not present a career path.
why employ an old, expensive postdoc with a life, when you can get fresh PhDs with no family who will work 60hrs a week for half the money? couple this with PhD students filling in the gaps, then if you haven't made it after 2-3 postdocs, then you're done.
This +1000
Stayed in too long, and feedback is now overwhelmingly "too old", (late 30s) and "over qualified"
teach chemistry in a high school - this country is desperate for passionate chemistry/science teachers.
Teaching is a good shout, they need chemists
Its a crime that research is so poorly funded, years of experience and a ton of qualifications make you look unattractive when trying to allocate salary funding in a grant
this country is desperate for passionate chemistry/science teachers
why do you need trained chemists?
there are no jobs.
I think they're still offering the 'golden hello' scheme for people training to teach in Maths & sciences. Not easy work but very rewarding.
why do you need trained chemists?
there are no jobs.
No I don't think that's what the OP is saying, there are no jobs at the OP's level is the issue here.
Meth Lab.
Big Rich - not needing PHD chemists isn't the same as needing chemistry teachers, there's loads of roles across biomed, engineering, construction, geology etc where a more basic but applied appreciation is valuable.
a more basic but applied appreciation is valuable.
interdisciplinary skill sets mean people are vague at a range of subjects.
there's an erosion of specialists, and everything is bought from catalogues.
that's the point.
Worth going abroad?
What was your specialism? What are your core skills rather than detailed subject knowledge?
Don't go into teaching unless it is something you actually want to do, I know a few post PhD people who have done this as a solution to finding work. They hate it or quit. I know one who realised half way through her PhD that she wanted to teach and is brilliant and loves it.
Stuff like linked-in actually works here - are you using that seriously? The chemical industry has fragmented in the UK and loads of people have had to bail - seeing what people you know are doing with similar backgrounds can help.
What type of chemistry were you doing?
OP tough times. Without knowing too much sounds like it's time to change something. Not sure where you are based but perhaps you should consider further afield. PhD chemist - more than basic IT ?
and everything is bought from catalogues.that's the point.
That's good though, it means the works been done, the solutions been found. Not good for you, mind. Like pooters innit? Apple don't have Alan Turings brain on ice just in case everyone else in the world forgets how to build a computer and we don't have to experiment to discover that round wheels are best for bicycles (optimum diameter yet to be determined).
My god, you lot are a depressing bunch at times!
I have a PhD and now a successful academic career, yet if I'd listened to some of you during the 1 1/2 years I was unemployed (5 years ago) I would've probably jumped off a bridge!
I advise the OP considers carefully his/her options. With a science PhD, you have demonstrated yourself to be highly skilled in a specialist technical area. Look for who/where/what will value that ability now and, further, evaluate closely what it is you actually want to do. Then make 'you' look like the person who has always wanted to do that - externally to people reading your CV. This may require some arm-bending to obtain a voluntary work placement in the area you want to be in. You now need to demonstrate commitment to a particular area and that you have your head screwed on.
Seek direct advise from professionals in the area you want to work in - on your CV and covering letter. Again - beg, plead, be nice. Get good advice from successful people - not 'the Internet'.
Above all.. I've been there - and I know how it feels. Keep on at it - whatever direction you choose - and you will get there! 🙂
Unless your savings are getting very low don't panic.
Try and enjoy not working cos when you do get back in you'll regret not doing what you coulda done with the time.
Most of the practical advice above is sound if you want to do things the conventional way.
There's always the Aleister Crowley route that'll definitely work
Yeah, to hell with paye, jump on a bike and f off round the world.
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Where are you looking? I see a good number of chemistry jobs appearing in the north east? Normally around teeside in oil and gas spinoffs.
Things are slow and people have been laying off staff but there is still a demand for people with the right skills.
would you consider moving overseas? I've seen a few positions for coating companies looking for chemistry experience.
If you have a background in chemistry you could do worse than looking into a career in H&S as a specialist in that area. It is relatively easy to get into and entry qualifications are inexpensive, quick and easy to gain. Starting out it won't exactly be well paid, but you can progress very quickly if you have the required attributes and drive.
This is a career path for many crap scientists who can't cut it in their choose field ([b]not[/b] saying that is what the OP is btw). Don't do it unless desparate, and sure you want to wave being a scientist behind.
This may sound harsh but, what exactly do you think your phd should do. Lots of people have good qualifications. When I recruit someone I am more interested in the person and what they will add to the team, than their qualifications, they just help get the interview.
have to say i agree with this 100%. I've seen people at work studying, getting more qualifications to the point where it detracts from their work and their careers go backwards! Aptitude and personality are the main traits i look for when hiring (finance).
Move to Loughborough
Don't laugh
I used to work in the hazardous waste industry and they were always on the look out for site chemists. Not the most glamorous or well paid of jobs but it is a start and there is a proven career path into HSEQ.
Tradebe are probably the market leader in the UK in haz waste with locations across the UK, Spain and the US. Definitely worth a punt.
Mate of mine was in the same boat after his two chemistry postdocs, ended up moving to Birmingham for a graduate position in a chemical company and having to start his way back up the ladder from scratch.
As another random career swerve, there's a whole parallel university industry that runs beside the academic world and some of it really welcomes masters and phd people... Like, I work in student recruitment, half the new starts in our line are people that've completed a research masters or phd then got fed up with that line of development. So they're knee deep in university life. It helps to have an in, like having worked as a student at recruitment events, open days etc as a lot of people do...
Anyway- not specifically suggesting you follow my rocky career path, just adding that the university experience itself can be valued as much as the skills you gained.
I'm going to agree with a couple of the other guys - If I'm recruiting - unless its REALLY specific then the qualifications don't even get looked at tbh.
Their experience and what/where they've worked are far more important than any paperwork telling me they have "xyz" phd.
Whilst the phd tells me they can apply themselves to study (well depending on WHAT the phd is) the downside is they have very little hands on experience and life skills to actually do the job.
In our field - your skill set is what is needed. Even the qualification needed to do the basic job is only your entry card - you're still only a labourer without other skills/trades.
scandal42 - Member
Move to LoughboroughDon't laugh
Before you get there, or, or after?
😆
[i]Before you get there, or, or after?[/i]
well he certainly wouldn't be laughing after...
Allthepies + 1
What can possibly go wrong?
Nowt wrong we Lugga like
Your career history looks scarily like my brother's!
If you have been totally out of work for 3 years then you obviously need to change tact. And probably change your CV. If you aren't getting interviews and they say it's because you are 'over qualified' then you probably writing it like a post-doc application. In which case completely rearrange it to be skills-with-examples (matched to each application you make), then education as a simple list.
I would highly encourage you to look at all pay grades, even if it feels like starting afresh. If asked, explain that your post doc experience wasn't what you hoped for and you want to change fields. Depending what type of chemistry you did, as well as the standard chemistry, oil&gas industries, teaching or HSE, some additional options could be: scientific coding / software development or sales; lab work, including biosciences, materials science; proof-reading / publishing; or quality control and testing. Cambridge has a vast bio-medical sector for example. It is better to have a low paid job than no job at all, IMO. Every so often more 'interesting' analytical chemistry jobs come up in the environmental sector, for example in ice cores for British Antarctic Survey.
New scientist magazine, as well as being interesting, seems to have a good jobs section too.
Just be aware that with no experience or track record your not going to walk into a 50k job.