This was supposed to be a blog with information about how to navigate around the treacherous world of the Biosciences.
Well, that’s over. Why? Because the treacherous world of Biosciences has also betrayed me; thus, I thought it more ethical to avoid being the blind leading the blind.
But I still have the blog and the username, so I thought maybe I should use them to at least chronicle my own days of living in the Bio twilight.
Welcome to the words of a moonlighting biologist.
What do we have so far?
The last time I saw the inside of a lab was no less than 7 months ago. Actually, that’s not true: the last time I saw the inside of a lab was three weeks ago, when I had an interview. More later.
Fact is, I finished my postdoc in October, and despite moving to one of the most scientifically fertile areas on the planet, I haven’t been able to get a job. It kinda makes sense, given the competition, but still.
So, it’s been 7 months of application after application – I think I’ve gone past 200 by now, but I’ve lost count. In all this time, I have had 4 interviews and a truckload of “interview” work for a journal that was looking for a Reviews Editor (didn’t pan out – I’ll tell you some other time).
There is much I can say about this. For some, it’s still a shock: “You mean you have a BSc, an MSc, a PhD, postdoc and industry experience and you still can’t get a job? What’s wrong with the world?”
Answer: Money. Along with the rest of the globe, the recession took a big bite off scientific funding too. It was bad already, what with too many PhDs and too few jobs for them. And now it got worse. Funding was lost and reduced, and the streets filled with PhDs wearing signs saying “WILL DO SCIENCE FOR FOOD”.
I’m one of them. You might pass me on the street every day and not know me. But if you see that sign, do spare some change for my people.
Next time, I’ll tell you about my fascinating interviews.
