find work I'm passionate about

As much as I feel renewed and able to stretch my wings in my ‘new’ job, I’m seeing the limitations now.

Firstly, boss is the only research leader and his time is greatly divided between that, patients and surgeries. Plus he’s a little too easy-going to compensate and not big on the detail. So he gets the funding, but there’s not a lot in the way of leadership or innovation.

So while there’s room to move, growing is going to be hard. I can still try and use what resources in neighbouring groups I can, but the support for it isn’t really there. So no, I don’t see a decent PhD here. Publications, yes, but even they are looking dodgey at the moment with statistics coming into play late.

I’m staying where I am and giving it a good shot, but this goal isn’t fulfilled yet. However, when something promising comes along the pay is going to have to be decent, because this baby is picking up the slack where my otherhalf’s work-hours are compromised to meet study commitments.

Science research salaries are all over the place in Australia, but especially in medical research. Of course we’re in this industry because we want to help others, but we are skilled workers and we have families and mortgages too.

Yes I will name and shame…
Westmead Hospital was advertising a post-doc research position paying less than a new graduate with Honours should be getting as a research assistant, so basically what a science graduate should be looking for. I would rather work as a check-out chick than be screwed like that.

This is the first job I’ve had that I can say I’m happy (understatement) with my pay and conditions, and I’ve been working for 14 years. So I’m not going to take a pay-cut, not when I’ve worked long and hard for this. I’m going to do what I can in this job, and when it’s time to move on, there’s no way I’ll be going for new graduate rip-off salaries.

Research Assistant. Gene expression in oesophageal cancer. Yes, it’s interesting stuff, but being in a small ‘group’ is an experience in itself because you lack that critical mass and momentum in your work. More room to grow, but you gotta have balls to do it.

I was going to read the previous entries, mention the people that almost stopped me from getting here, but I won’t. Truth is, I was considering another career. Unreasonable stress (diplomatically put) and disillusionment almost did it for me. But having worked at hotel… in a skirt... quickly reminded me what I was missing.

So… I have this great job, not to mention that going from an commercial RA to a grant-funded RA not only gave my work real meaning again, but a REALLY healthy pay-rise (more to do with being taken advantage of when the bottom line is dollars, not lives).

The passionate part will develop as my skills and self-esteem do. Achieving real outcomes entails more than just doing what is expected, but doing more and knowing that you’re a player in the field, not just along for the ride.

Have even thought about doing a PhD again, but this time I’ll know when the time is right and all systems are go. Until then… game on ;)

Had my whinge earlier (apologies for the toxic negativity). Perhaps I walked in shoes I was meant to just long enough to learn a lesson, but thankfully it looks like I’ve got my TAFE work back, and full-time. It’s not a career job, but it’s a good job meantime and I love the people I work with.

I do feel somewhat lucky. I really do. And I’m going to quit the Hilton. I did meet some great people there, but six months is more than enough of the hospitality industry for me. I saw too many people working their buns off doing thankless work just to make ends meet, which is really all you are doing on those wages. Good luck to them all. I want to leave ‘cheers’ for all my colleagues because I won’t see them all before leaving.

I’m feeling so much better now :)

The grass everywhere is looking greener than here.

My casual Hilton job that should have made ends meet over the student summer-break is falling severely short; they over-staffed and shifts vary between 0-2 a week. I’d actually be financially better off on the ‘dole’, an offer I’ll take next if I’m not finally paid tomorrow for a shift I did three weeks ago. And to think… I went through THREE recruitment sessions to get this job…

The casual TAFE work I was relying on returning to this semester (while looking for my career job) looks like it was lost in budget-cuts, and meantime I’ve started to get into debt living partly on my credit-card. I’ve never done that before, and it makes me a little mad.

I’ll start applying for everything under the sun in my industry that I’m (over)qualified to do, but I did this last year, and employers aren’t interested if you are over-qualified. They think you’ll get bored and leave, or you’re not enthusiastic enough about cleaning their 100L fermenters… who knows. And then the jobs you ARE qualified for… you don’t have enough experience.

I am going to go insane.

Let’s not forget the arrogant Sydney research institutes that demand your academic transcript, nothing less than first-class honours, experience, and expect to pay you a cashier’s wages for the privelege of working there.

The more I see of this industry, the less I want to plot a career in it, but I can’t reskill anymore; I need to make a living now. I need to build my superannuation… I need to see a dentist (first time in at least 12 years)... my car needs tyres (not to mention a total service)... I have a benign tumour in my head that may decide not to respond to medication this time… I’d like to get married in the next two years…

okay… I’m definitely whinging now. But getting angry gets you nowhere. Selling yourself gets you nowhere. Should I be offering my first born child or something to get a job???

Grrr.

and I’m feeling overly optimistic :)

I’m largely aimed at Research Assistant positions, and mostly in the medical field. It’s competitive. Who wants to research wheat??

This position covers my background. I can do this job, I meet their essential criteria, but only as a mere research student… and one without a solid, weighty reference.

Here’s to the little engine who thought he could…

I’d conveniently forgotten how depressing job-hunting can be; an endless list of jobs demanding one thing or another that you haven’t got.

And then when you do get that interview, the rejection hits a little closer to home… that picture of being happy in your job seems about as far as Pluto at the moment…

I’m not passionate about using animals in research, so that narrows the field. I know this work has its place, but I cried when I put down only five mice for my postgrad work. They don’t deserve it, and I don’t want anything to do with anything like that again.

Don’t know how to dress the ‘quit PhD’ on the resume just yet. Would omitting it be considered lying?

Looking for a meaty job I can go for broke in. Nothing to do with plants. If I haven’t learnt anything else, it’s that I don’t care about plants unless they’re in my garden, in a pot looking pretty, or in my cooking.

My roots are in molecular bio and microbiology, and medical related research never fails to be interesting. But you know what? I need a break. The crappy experience under my PhD supervisor has me a little in a funk over lab work.

I’m going to cast my nets and see what I find. Meantime, I’m doing shifts here and there at the Hilton (in a skirt… grr) and I’ll be going back as a part-time tech officer preparing practicals when the students go back in Feb. It’s money, and it can buy me time to look for a job I am passionate about…

...if asking for a job isn’t too much to ask for now that I have looser tattooed on my forehead…

I almost wish I could get into an artistic job… but yeah… dreaming… :P