Another bit of (niche) careers advice needed

[sooperswooper]

I am really stuck at the moment and feeling totally disheartened. Could do with a bit of direction and signposting advice (possibly in conjunction with a bit of "pull your socks up" & crack on advice too).

Situation is (apologies if quite long)- graduated with a degree in law almost 10 years ago now (2ii- crappy mitigating circumstances) and I then did a masters (2i). Started a PhD but withdrew as it changed in focus and direction and I realised I didn't want to be doing that topic. At the same time, got a project researcher job and did that, in conjunction with lecturing, for 3 years. Contract ended, then went into teaching law at school level (couldn't find another research job & relocated with oh and this happened to be available) for 18months until pregnant- handed in notice before pregnant. Since then (almost 18 months ago) have applied for PhD studentships (got accepted into the programmes, but no funding so a non starter) research jobs and even NGO jobs but not successful in anything.

Tried to mitigate this by doing volunteer work for an NGO in humanitarian research for a few months which I've just finished the project (can't afford to do any more unpaid with cost of childcare) and also started a visiting lecturer position 2 hours a week for this term (I was recommend to this by an ex colleague)- but this is on contract for autumn term. On the back of these two things, I've applied for more phd studentships which haven't been successful, and other research organisation & NGO jobs but nothing is successful. No feedback as "so many people apply and we provide feedback only at interview stage" (which I'm not getting).

What on earth do I do? I just don't think it's worth carrying on applying to things when I'm not getting anywhere as the applications take forever. I cannot understand it, as I have experience to mitigate my UG degree result. Should I just give up on academic and research? If so, what can I do? I'm not sure how and where my skills would transfer to. Any advice muchly appreciated.

Well, how about you start with thinking about what you actually want to do.

Knowing nothing about either, my thought is the doing a PhD is quite different from working for an NGO - so what attracts you to each? Also, what skills do you have (both specific to your discipline and generally)? What do you enjoy, hate, thrive on? How do you feel about the teaching?

Knowing that, we might make more useful suggestions and it might help you think more clearly about where you want to be.

Oh, and what is your field? "Law" is pretty broad.

That's a good point; I have actually done a lot of thinking about this (I couldn't afford- either literally or figuratively- to undertake unpaid work without that). My field is international human rights which is why it is transferable between sectors; what the NGO experience allowed me was to see whether I could transfer my research/ analysis skills over. It also allowed me to see whether working in a non university environment with a far more corporate approach was somewhere I'd like to end up.

A PhD would actually be beneficial to both situations as it brings the additional depth of knowledge and, I suppose, credibility to a degree (sorry. Couldn't resist). The problem now stands with getting an actual, paid job in either!

My take is that your CV is very 'bitty' - are you a researcher, a PhD student, a school teacher, a university lecturer? Or a NGO worker?

I completely see how this came about and understand how it fits together, but your experience will not come off well in comparison to someone who has spent 10 years working for an NGO, or has a PhD, post-doc experience and a good few publications under their belt.

I suggest either self funding the PhD or sticking with the NGO volunteering in the hope that something paid comes up.

You're spot on with that assessment, and I'm kicking myself for not thinking of it like that, as it makes sense in why I'm getting rejected for everything I'm applying for & on the flip side, why I might not be a strong candidate. Really good starting point for me.

My problem is costs now; with no income myself (to speak of -my 2hrs a week in Jan covers the childcare for that) I can neither afford to self fund a phd or continue with the voluntary work now. I suppose the next question is where do I go from here. I have a 13mo, no disposable income for further training and no strong thread of work history. What I want is to carry on working in the human rights sphere, but I don't know now whether that's realistic.

Aaaargh.

Bit off your track, but have you considered the civil service? There are human rights issues arising in all sorts of bits of Government policy.

You could maybe apply for the fast stream or look at the jobs available in any Departments you like the look of.

A bit of varied experience is no bad thing in that sort of job and you can have a varied career doing different sorts of jobs.

Going back to what you are actually talking about, which is where next (and assuming you only want to pursue something you've already mentioned):

• if you have no money you'll need something that pays
• there are maybe more teaching jobs than NGO ones
• depending how much you need the money you might have to look at jobs in another field altogether then look to move from a position of being in work
• self-employment is a possibility. Can you be a consultant, working interdisciplinary?

I wonder if there is a way to re-write your CV so that there is a stronger thread running through it ?

Is it worth just shelving it all for now until your child is 2, when childcare becomes a bit cheaper? Maybe get some careers advice in the meantime. I can recommend someone near London if interested.

What do you really want to do? Seriously, don't teach or lecture for no discernible financial gain unless you are actually getting something out of it.

Hiya - I know this is quite an old post but if helpful I can give a free careers coaching session in return for 5 mins to complete a v short survey - basically I am scoping if it's worth setting up some specific careers advice for mums on mat leave / shortly returning to work - it's at www.surveymonkey.com/s/7SZHSFB thanks!