A student’s perspective on job hunting…

I would love to stay in science but I don't know what is available to me other than post-doc positions. I receive regular email alerts from certain job websites about positions in science, however, as I have only ever been exposed to a university lifestyle I do find it difficult to understand what these jobs entail. This may also be due to job descriptions being rather vague. In many cases, experience is also required, which is rather difficult if you haven't had a job in that particular area or outside of a university, and this does tend to put students off applying. Websites can also be particularly difficult to navigate, especially those for large pharmaceutical companies.

A number of my friends have mentioned applying for positions and it has become apparent after one interview that the institute already had an internal candidate in mind for the job. This makes the whole application and interview procedure a waste of time and very down heartening.

I do feel there is a lack of guidance for newly graduated students, whether it is those who have just finished an MSc or a PhD course.

All these problems give an added pressure on top of trying to write a thesis!

Jess Naddafy