8 Years Later.

If, like me, you soldiered bravely on straight from an undergraduate degree to a postgraduate course then as things finally start to wrap up you may find yourself apprehensive and afraid. Apprehensive, because there’s a big world out there beyond the confines of the university campus, and afraid, because frankly speaking, alot of education without much practical experience can feel like a disadvantage rather than an advantage when trying to get a job.

Doing a PhD in science the main career choice promoted avidly by enthusiastic supervisors is the dreaded post-doc. But do not be fooled my friends! If you have not enjoyed your PhD lab experience, then you should consider your next move carefully. While the general consensus in the academic world seems to be, just try it out, this blasé attitude could end in tears, your tears, lots of them. Instead of an excuse to go overseas and work in exotic locations a post-doc should be seen as an amped up PhD. Let’s scratch that, let’s call it a PhD on amphetamines. 

Your drugged up post-doc will expect you to be more efficient and productive, suddenly entering the realm of a qualified scientist. Your studentship now behind you, you will embark on a journey which many begin and few end. The pinnacle of scientific life, professorship, an elusive but much coveted title, feels like a possibility in moments of euphoria but when your experiments lie in ruins around you climbing the academic pyramid feels like an insurmountable task. 

But for those set on seeing the view from the top, fear not! If something has been done before then being able to successfully emulate it is a possibility. I say possibility because, as anyone who has tried to repeat a protocol from a paper has found, often significant changes have to be made before it (hopefully) works for you in your lab.  But ranting and philosophising aside there must be more to life than academia? Surely, there is a world of possibilities for someone who has spent 8 years and extensive amounts of blood, sweat and money on tertiary education? The jury is out people and I will keep you posted on the ins and outs of my transition from the lab into the real world.