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!

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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