If in doubt do more university.

I am sure you have been wondering why I am not posting much recently? Well, let me tell you…

I really wanted to start a post assuming I have loads of regular readers who actually notice my pattern of posting. I do realize though nobody cares, and that is not a bad thing, that means you all have lives, just the way I do, well... sort ofJ

I have started university. Again... I have been meaning to update you about it but it was going awesome, keeping me busy and I truly, truly love what I chose to study. But who wants to read about good news?

So I chose a course that gives me a professional boost towards my career of choice. The sort of thing they send new employees to once they hire them. I thought this will show them how eager I am (spending 3k out of the pocket to do something an employer could pay for is proving eagerness I thought).

So here I am actually just about to finish my course, graduate, gain exemptions from professional body exams (some of them) and conquer the job world. Only to learn that they like their graduate hires to be fresh and untouched by the job specific knowledge, that it will be better if I was just a science graduate.

Probably this is the moment when I have to say what kind of job it is. I really really really want to be a Patent Attorney. I have always had a flair for law and I think it is just a matter of coincidence that I chose science over legal studies. And then I realized there is this one legal job that actually requires having a science degree and combines rock-hard scientific knowledge with solid legal training. It gives you an opportunity to work with ground breaking innovation before anyone else knows about it. Exciting stuff! And… watch this… it pays well too! And…. Even better… it allows you to have a good life-work balance! Perfect!

 It is not easy to become a patent attorney. Because of the above reasons it is a very competitive field to get into, especially for Biology/Biotech graduates. It turns out Biotech is the most competitive of them all…simply because there is not much choice of jobs outside academia. If a Biotech PhD wants to leave university, they can be Science Sales advisors or Patent Attorneys. If an Engineer wants to leave university they get headhunted into industry. There is 150 excellent Biotechnologists/Biologists and Life Sciences graduates applying for one trainee patent attorney post. And there is only a handful of such jobs available yearly. I can only imagine what percentage of these 150 people are Cambridge and Oxford graduates. And they are all native speakers, who know where to put all the the’s in their application letters.

For the first time in my grown up life I have reached a glass ceiling. I am starting to realize that no matter how much I tried I am not white English middle class male and Russel group university graduate. It doesn’t matter how much I try, I am just not good enough. And getting a degree in Intellectual Property Law and becoming a member of the professional body will just not make any difference. It would have been easier to become a Duchess of Cambridge…

NEET Comment

Here is a few of my thoughts about the Benetton Unemployee of The Year video I posted in my previous post.

 link

Benetton is being rather criticized for it. Out of the main reasons I managed to find online was:

1. Because the company is famous of being controversial in their advertising campaigns and this is JUST supposed to draw attention to their brand.
2. That even if they genuinely wanted to make their campaign socially relevant, they are NOT SOLVING the problem.
3. Or actually that unemployed person cannot afford a Benetton cardigan.

You could agree with all of those, but what I think is that this advertisement or any other advertisements like this just exploit the fact that there is a problem.

 We are living in the times our parents had never encountered. Being painfully unemployed just after leaving school. The number of unemployed people reaching 25% in some European countries, this is like one in 5 people. If you have 4 friends you see regularly, this is one of your bunch. And this is just the ones registered. I am not registered. Nobody actually counts me in.

This Benetton campaign makes a mainstream comment on the unforgettable moment when your dreams smash on the concrete after you realize all these years in education, all these years of being diligent, all these years of investing in yourself are just not going to pay off. The problem is that we are not talking about people who had highest marks but not real skills and no idea about reality. We are talking about thousands of people who are reality-aware, who have actual skills, who were actively shaping their steel character to rock the job market. Just like those guys in this advert.

 The only consolation is that it MUST pay off one day. That this makes us stronger and more flexible. That when jobs come we will be the first to get them because we will be the ones with extra skills gained as receptionists, drivers and cashiers.

 The bitter question is who will want a biotechnologist who hasn’t been in a lab for 3 years and who did not have access to the news from the field? Or a newly qualified lawyer with no knowledge of what has happened to legislation in the last 3 years?

 May the NEET force be with us!

Not in Education Employment Training

Just something I came across today. Give me your thoughts!

Doggy business and dodgy business.

Where shall I start? Maybe the dodgy one first. Well, it’s not really dodgy but I will call it that as it looks good next to doggy.

When I was still doing my PhD on top of and in spite of my research I completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Public Relations. There were two reasons why I decided to do it;  partly to gain more skills as a backup for my PhD – by principle to make sure I am capable of doing something that isn’t research. And partly to have a twist in my CV to make it easier to get out of the lab and do something FUN with my science degree.

A few years down the line – it was a brilliant decision. My PR degree got me into far more interviews than my PhD in the past 6 months.

But there is a BUT. Having graduated a couple of years ago and doing full time research means I did not have experience. So these interviews went very well but jobs were given to people who had more experience (du’uh). And as it was a vicious circle of not being able to gain more experience without having experience, I gave myself a chance to gain more experience and opened a PR agency.

The business was also aimed at keeping me busy and optimistic against all the difficulties with finding jobs.

So here I am, totally new to Bristol and the UK and running a business that is based mostly on contacts.

I am gaining experience, but it is far slower than it would have been if someone was wishing to introduce me to it. I am making contacts. I am getting media interested in my clients. As with everything, this has been an up-and-down experience. Some topics are being picked up by the media without much effort, and some need to be forced upon the media with a lot of effort.

Bottom line is that I am self-employed unemployed. How does it look on my CV? That is the question. My business is what I have been doing since my PhD. It proves I have been trying to make use of my time, it means I have been gaining experience in PR, it means I have initiative and  that I am not afraid of taking charge of the situation. It means I understand how to run a business, not just a lab. I had to learn how to make a website, how to run a Facebook fanpage, I learned how to use Twitter and Pinterest. I even had to understand far more than I ever wanted about  Search Engline Optimisation.  I would like to put it on my CV. BUT… But then why would I be applying for a job if my business was going well? Won’t a potential employer think I must be failing if I am still interested in jobs? Or that I must be indecisive if I apply for jobs a few months after deciding to start a business. One of my friends recommended naming it freelancing. One of those PR words that do the brilliant jobs while being gibberish really…

What about doggy business? As I am unemployed and home a lot I signed up as a host to take care of dogs while their owners go on holiday. The doggy arrives for a few days with all the necessary equipment, food, leads, grooming kits and toys and I give it walks, open food tins and play with it. Genius! Loads of fun and early mornings! Everything an unemployed person needs!

To come out or not to come out?

That is the question...

So I have started a blog, it is there, and I actually think I have a thing or two to say about the subject of PhDs vs. world.

Do I make my blog an official blog of mine and brag about it on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Flickr, Linkedin and on my website? Or do I write this little journal for myself and a couple of people who come across it?

Pros for coming out:

1. I am not ashamed of what I want to say and quite happy to put my name to it.

2. It will help me optimise my website in Google.

Without devoting this whole post to telling the story of the Website I will just say this:

In order to keep myself busy, boost my optimism and feel like I am in charge of my own career I have started a business. The business is 2 months old and obviously doesn't make any money, YET.

3. It should be a sufficient comment explaining to my potential employers why I am applying for jobs while running a business.

4. It should be a sufficient comment explaining to my potential customers why I am still after a job if I am running a business.

Or am I totally wrong about this bit?

Cons for coming out:
1.  It is admitting that am struggling.

My name is Monika and I am unemployed. Nightmare! How will this affect my online identity? What will everybody think on Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin? That I am lazy? That I like living at my boyfriend’s expense? That I am a loser? That I am not trying hard enough? That My CV probably has typos? That I copy-paste my cover letters? That obviously I must be doing something wrong. What will my uni friends think? How will my school friends judge me?

2. What if it comes out bitter?

This blog isn’t aimed at being negative, but what if it comes across like it is?

I need to take this decision, meanwhile watch this space for more drama! ;)

Prologue

Like every research project, this has to start somewhere. And like every research project, when you first hear of it, you can't even read it with full understanding. Well, I never can at least.

A few words about me.

I am a recent PhD graduate in Biomedical Science with quite impressive publication record. At least I am impressed. When I was starting my project, the goal was to complete. Preferably without giving up too much holiday and not spending nights in the lab. I never really meant to be very successfull with my project. Average was good enough back when I started. PhD is a PhD whether you get it with distinctions and medals or just a regular diploma. Completing a PhD is an achievement in itself, right?

But the truth is that no matter how much you plan to be indifferent to your research, it always takes your soul. I spent some holiday doing research and quite a few evenings but I only spent nights when I was writing up. And that was fun because it made me feel like a real writer. 

So I completed this PhD with distinctions, medals and a very impressive list of publications and now I am looking for a job.

What kind of job? 

Something interesting, ambitious, engaging and in line with my interests. I have loads of interests. I have passion for my PhD research topic, I am interested in intellectual property, I have a business heart in me. Hard working, enthusiastic, devoted, all the things that make a really good workaholic. The job market seemed to be my oyster. Untill I started applying for jobs. And it turned out that my brilliant PhD, my publication record, my broad interests, even my pretty face are not appreciated outside academia.

So here I am, writing this blog.

Mostly to help myself analyse how much this is caused by the current job market and how much this is because my CV is not printed on a pink, scented paper. Well, nowadays you don't even get to scent your own CV as they all remain electronic, but you know what I mean.

This blog will be about my thoughts and my attempts.

Follow me for a bitter-sweet insight into the PhD world and if you like pretty girls :)

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