Completely lost

[Nucleoli]

Hello,

I have recently finished my doctorate in science which I started straight after my undergraduate course. I have now started the dreaded job search and it's not an understatement to say that I'm completely and utterly lost.

Problem one is that I just can't figure out for the life of me what I actually want to do. I've thought about research, non-research, science communication and patent work. I've spoke to two careers advisers but it hasn't helped much. Nothing seems to fit or feels right....I've spent three years working towards my doctorate so it seems a shame to retrain straight away (not that I know what I'd do anyway).

Problem two is figuring out where on earth I should live, the area I'm currently in is not very fruitful for science careers. However, I don't want to be moving house regularly, so ideally I want to move somewhere that will put me in a hub for various jobs.

The combination of the two has totally stumped me. I feel so disheartened to see most of my peers settled in jobs. I try and casually browse for jobs but I'm rapidly gripped by physical anxiety (tight chest etc) and end up even more panicked and disheartened than before.

Everyone tells me that things have a way of falling into place, and I agree to an extent, but I am seriously uncomfortable in this situation. I've never felt so lost and out of control. It sounds pathetic but I really feel like my life is over.. I might have a lot of fancy qualifications but I am a total plonker.

I'm not sure what I'm hoping to gain from this, maybe just to hear that other people were once in this situation and came out the other end

Just to start the conversation, what made you decide to do a PhD? That's a big step up from a degree so I presume there was some plan in mind as to why you'd do a further 3 years of study. Tbh I'm struggling to know what to suggest as next steps career-wise because I don't know what you studied.

Could you seek support from your University, as they always have a careers advice service to help move students from academia towards a RW career path.

I assume you’ve asked your supervisors. It sounds as though you need to try a few routes to see what suits you. Rather than seeing this as a big decision, could you look for some short term contracts in several different labs to test what sort of environment suits you?

Maybe repost in www.mumsnet.com/Talk/academics_corner, where there’ll be someone who’s been through your specific experience.

Hi OP, I'm very tempted to respond "Welcome to the real world" !

In academia everything is very structured, there's a clear progression, there are tutors to give feedback, you get evaluation on your work, it's kind of a protected environment.

Outside academia, we are all to a certain extent groping around in the dark, wondering where the light switch is.

What should we do with our lives, where should we live, etc etc.

Unfortunately life doesn't come with a manual and we all blunder through as best we can.

I would read some personal development / self help /life coach type books. Have you tried What Color is Your Parachute?

Good luck - it's an adventure with no map!

In terms of where to live, Cambridge has loads of science jobs. It has the Science Park in the north of the city, the Genome Campus to the south, research jobs at Addenbrooke’s...the list goes on!

Do you want to stay in academia, or move into industry? Continue doing bench work, or move away from that? Don’t be afraid to try different types of jobs, as the way that you find what feels right is by actually doing the job in the real world.

The first step is to face your anxiety about looking for a job. When you do, don't expand your mind to all the changes and unknown this will bring in your life, this will come later. At this point, your priority is to apply to job. Seek advice on how to best sell your skills and ability and show them on your CV and covering letter.

You should let your job seeking lead when you might end up living. As a poster have said, until now, you've had very structured support through all you've done, now you find yourself on your own to make decisions. It is normal to feel anxious and overwhelmed but you'll get through it if you look at it as a number of tasks to achieve rather than a massive step you need to take.

Let the job search guide you. Your first job is very unlikely to be your forever job, you'll make mistakes and learn from them. It will be OK.

Don't panic, I think most people feel this way about looking for their first job, if it helps in today's culture it is very much the norm to work in a number of different fields and industries and to change jobs fairly frequently, so you don't have to feel that this first step will define or limit the rest of your career. When I am looking for jobs my main consideration is whether it will pay the bills and be suitable in other practical ways, then whether the company is one I want to work for (I mainly work in public sector but also academia/third sector, there are several big corporations I would never work for, their ethics/values just don't match). Then I consider whether the job seems interesting and whether the people I would be working with are nice (hard to tell the last until you do the job of course). I try not to overthink beyond those points - if the job works out well great, if not I do it for a short period and move on.

Where to live - it depends a bit on your speciality but I agree with PP that the London-Stansted-Cambridge corridor region could be a good shout particularly if you are into biochem or biomed - lots of good universities, public sector employers and technology companies and start ups in the region and also commutable to London which gives more flexibility. Nice part of the world too although not the cheapest...