A
male
age
36-40,
anonymous
writes:I'm currently feeling a bit lost and was hoping for some advice. I'm in my final year of a PhD in biochemistry (9 months left) and I'm not sure where I want to go next. I took the position because it was more or less offered to me on a plate at a lab I did some undergrad work with a nice stipend equivelant to a decent full time job, and with many of my friends signing on at the job centre, I felt it was my safest option. However as it draws to a close, despite being able to do it well enough, I'm sick of science and the academic lifestyle of working late hours and weekends with no financial incentive to it. I enjoy travel, and one of my supervisors has contacts for getting postdocs in Australia, but despite the cool idea of Australia I do feel like it's going further down the rabbit hole, becoming more specialized and trapped in a field I don't feel any passion for and which takes far too much time out of my week. I used to love socialising before PhD, and whilst I still can, it feels like even with putting in effort to have a personal life I'm always struggling in science.so, what can I use my PhD (or even ignoring it) to do next? Will I seem overqualified to enter good jobs in business (even if i need to work my way up), can I just travel guilt-free etc. Since I see my PhD as paid work for 3 years as opposed to a training experience I need for the future, I'm not opposed to just doing good things completely unrelated to it.
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reader, no nonsense Aidan  +, writes (29 May 2012):
Anyone who’s spent any length of time in the world of academia, whether they left after attaining a degree or a PHD, will find it a big learning curve when they transition to the world of business. Firstly, congratulations on achieving so highly in your academic field. Doing a PHD is incredibly hard work, you mention the weekends and long hours, not to mention the financial insecurity and sacrifices you have to make in other areas of your life to get it done. And there we have point 1 to remember: your academic achievement is proof that you are committed, motivated and very hard-working, all skills that are valued highly in the business world, or indeed to any kind of employer. The reason that so many employers ask for graduate candidates is often because of what it shows them about the work ethic of the person, rather than because of the specific content of their course: many companies have graduate schemes which require no previous experience, they look for a good brain that they can train up. We have hundreds of them in the UK, many of which are run by global companies so I see no reason why they wouldn’t exist in equal measure in Canada-have a look around and see what’s out there. You would, of course, be best-served applying for a graduate scheme in a company that deals with an area that you already have expert knowledge in, because then your expertise to date will be highly advantageous to you, but you’d be applying your knowledge to business-focussed activities, and you’d get valuable training in business skills like management. So your current specialism is useful to business, you don’t have to do something entirely unrelated just because you want to branch out from academia. Of course, you can though, if you wish. You’re worried about being overqualified, that makes sense. Whilst there may be some narrow-minded souls out there who’d make all kinds of assumptions about your expectations because of your level of achievement, I think most people are more open-minded, particularly in these difficult economic times where people of all abilities and levels of education are having to take a much more flexible attitude to what work they’d be willing to do. What you’ll need to do is to show in covering letters and interviews that you’ve understood what’s required of whatever role you apply for, that you have passion and enthusiasm for the role and that you’ve thought about why you would be suitable for it. A popular type of interview, especially for roles that do not require extensive previous experience, is one which uses something called a “competency framework.” This means that, rather than interviewing you about the job itself, they’ll ask you to give evidence of having demonstrated a particular set of skills that they feel is important to carrying out the job for which you’re applying, and therefore you’ll be focussing on what you do know, and what you have already done, rather than what you don’t. You may already know all this, but it’s useful for our wider readership, but if not, send me a message (register first if you’ve not already done so) and I’ll happily go in to more detail about this with you.So in conclusion, remember that you’ve already got a huge amount to offer in the worlds of business, teaching, academia and many others, so you have so much choice. But don’t be afraid to go away from what you know: many people do so (look at all the bankers and lawyers who read subjects like classical civilisations at university for example). You can use your expertise in the business world, but again you don’t have to. Showing passion, selling yourself and learning how to make the most of the application process to show what you’ve got to offer will open up so many doors for you (even ones that seem unrelated to anything you’ve done before), and I wish you all the very best.
A
female
reader, anonymous, writes (29 May 2012): Hi OP. I'm in a very similar position to you - I'm close to submitting my PhD thesis, but now hate science and dread the thought of becoming an academic. I know the postdoc positions in Australia offer more money, but I assure you it is the same long hours, little satisfaction, low pay (compared to other jobs). I feel science is not really respected here in Australia, and have decided to leave the country soon after I submit. My supervisors and other colleagues at uni work very long hours and most days of the week. My supervisor's idea of a weekend off, is a weekend with only one 200 pg+ thesis to review. I think those in academia are fine with working in such conditions (poor work-life balance) because all their peers have that sort of life, it's normal to them. For me, most of my friends don't work in academia - I know they do not have the same pressures of long hours and little pay. Plus as an academic, your work is constantly under intense scrutiny.
Anyway, I have come to terms with the fact that I may never ever work in science again. I started my PhD naive and thinking I was going to change the world. Now I've realised that I'm not, but the best I can do is make mine and my family's world the best possible. I have an editing job for me after I finish that I'm overqualified for, but it let's me travel, pays pretty well, plus I only have to work 30 hours a week. For me that means more time with family and freedom to do fun stuff, which I can't put a value on. So think long and hard about what you want from life, what do you value, what drives you?
You might be surprised at what types of opportunities you have with a PhD. Have you considered jobs for example at pharmaceutical companies, government agencies, etc? If you are doubting life in academia, you should explore different options first - you might hate them, but you might find something perfect for you. You are still very young. Travel the world. You can always go back to academia.
Good luck!
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A
male
reader, Xearo  +, writes (29 May 2012):
Hey you can always look into travelling to area where healthcare is badly needed even though the countries are developed, like Trinidad and Tobago or another Caribbean island. These are places you can even start your own small business in a small office. I think you should experiment a lot more before you call it quits because you basically have a card that can open many other doors for you.
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