Nice new corner! Come and chat!

[NeverEverAnythingEver]

We have our new board! Calling all cademics/aspiring academics/fed-up academics - come and chat!

Thanks everyone. I probably do need to develop a thicker skin and you're right multi less obsessed with the validation of others.

I've not been able to find any sessional teaching, so the financial pressure is building up too. Both institutions I've studied at prioritise current PhD students (which is fair enough) when it comes to teaching. So I feel almost completely cut adrift, my supervisor is sympathetic but started his academic career in the 80s so whilst understanding that it is rough for postdocs isn't clued up on the actual mechanics of getting a job or building a CV. I worry that if I don't get something concrete on my CV soon I'll start to lose ground.

Have you tried contacting heads of dept in your subject at all unis you can feasibly travel to asking about sessional work? I just employed a sessional who sent his cv to me on spec like that. And it's something I did myself whilst still a PhD student.

That's a good idea city I'll do that. Is it too early to be sending them out for semester two?

Nope - not at all. If people don't have their staffing in line for next semester yet then they'll be doing so soon.

Right, I'll get cracking on that!

Also in post-PhD land. Viva last week. No corrections. Mystified - the number of typos in it was frightening. Just received the examiners report, and they say it is suitable for publication. It is as if I am reading a report about someone else, because I'd fallen into a sort of depression like state about the whole thing and prospects.

There are two jobs at present that I can apply for, and both are a reach. I am just hoping that more emerge over the year, and am putting this down to a lull with departments being fully staffed for the beginning of the academic year.

It worries me that I have zero publications (I didn't think I could do it), but I suppose I'll just put 'in preparation for submission', having identified some areas that could feasibly be turned into papers.

In my area (humanities) it is common to bounce around between various teaching jobs for a year or more before securing a lecturing position. In the meantime, we can only forge ahead with publishing and attending conferences - it's a very peculiar sort of limbo land.

Well done God no corrections that's amazing! It is a very strange limbo land and it seems all the support networks you need to function as an aspiring academic are cut shortly after completion (institutional affiliation, online resources, workspace and library access) are cut when you need them most. I have one thing to apply for but hold out no hope of getting it.

I had fully anticipated a few years of temp jobs, part time and casual work, but have struggled to even get the first grasping fingers on the ladder at all.

As they would say on the Chronicle fora, AFTDJ...

God most academic posts are advertised in the spring (well, March'ish to June'ish) as people hire for the following year. Although you do see the odd post listed around now for a Jan start...

I'm not quite sure that's true - around here as soon as we get notice a post is funded we advertise quickly so we don't lose the funding, plus people resign at random times of year (e.g. if they have a September start, they will resign maybe 3-6 months before that date, leaving their post open with too little time to fill it before September).

Hmm, well I did say most and that's definitely the case in my field.

Yes, the ones I'm looking at (lectureships) start in January. A total of two. There are a few fellowships, but one of them said that in the last round they received around 1000 applications for ten (!!).

My university e-mail is about to vanish soon, along with access to journals, and the like. You are right about suddenly being cut off - it's a disconcerting feeling.

Fortunately, I can take some time to apply for jobs and don't need to take something non-academic (supportive OH). That's just as well since some of these applications are rather detailed!

Maybe it's field specific then.

We adverstise as soon as we've got money. Which is not very often...

Thanks everyone for your wise words. Ah yes

My plan of attack is to 1) Stop feeling sorry for myself 2) Send out the CVs 3) Work on a post doc idea 4) Journal article 5) work out a full back plan. 6) stop feeling sorry for myself.

Don't push trying to stop feeling sorry for yourself. Let down after the intense experiencing of finishing is natural. Just notice the feeling & let it pass. Focus on the fact that you've passed your PhD with only minor things to change.

Don't let that let-down feeling sabotage l after yourself for preparing for the next stage - post-doctoral life.

But mainly, stop beating yourself up! And try not to beat yourself up for beating yourself up. Just let it pass ...

Hi. Somehow only just found this board, so coming very late to the party. Submitted thesis in social sciences a couple of months ago but due to various reasons my viva won't be until early next year and I don't actually have a date yet. Sympathy to everyone else in post-phd limbo, and Godstopper I also have zero publications which is worrying me, but I don't think it's that unusual.

Good luck with the viva crimsonrose I have one publication to my name and not a very good one unfortunately. I published early in my PhD and my ideas have moved on a bit since then. I wished I'd waited rather than rushing to publish.

Thanks Compos. I'm waiting to hear back about an article I submitted in July, according to the editorial manager the required reviews were completed nearly 3 weeks ago but I haven't heard anything yet.

Good luck with your postdoc ideas and journal article. If you're on twitter #acwrimo (academic writing month) is about to start and can be useful for support (and potentially contacts).

In terms of jobs, I've got some bits of work by letting the admin staff in my dept know I was looking, some of it hasn't been particularly relevant but I have got some supervising work (MA dissertations) in another department from a staff member who's moved over there. Also could you ask your supervisor/other colleagues about guest lecturing if there's a module related to your PhD topic? (or something where you could draw on your research experience).

There's nothing doing at all at my old university sadly. Also I've had to move back to my hometown which is several hundred miles away from where I studied. But I'm trying all the local universities to see if they have any casual seminar teaching knocking about.

I met my Masters supervisor last week and she reminded me that I'd talked about applying for Postdocs and I should really get a move on with that. If that comes off brilliant, but some work for the short to medium term is a pressing issue.

Just signed up for #AcWriMo so hopefully this will give me the kick up the bum I need to get started on the difficult second article. Best of luck if you're doing it too.

Liking the sound of academic writing month, thanks for the heads up about that.

Hi everyone, on the scrounge for advice again! I've found a list of university departments within commuting distance from my flat and a contact at each of those departments.

I'm just trying to think what I need to include. I'll send my CV as an attachment but should I include a separate covering letter too?

Should I mention the modules at their university that I'm able to teach - "I feel I would be well suited to teaching on Hist 123 Continuity and Change in Sixteenth century France offered by your department"

or merely indicate the areas I've had experience teaching in:

I have experience of teaching on survey courses that explored social and political change in early modern France with a key focus on gender and class

Any advice greatly appreciated!