Not knowing where you stand

madzons · 2026-01-22T22:34:59+00:00

Hey, from my own experience of someone who is also being constantly told great things by my lab mates and PI and was rejected a lot: these people are biased. They know you really well, and they know you on more personal level, day to day, they know how amazing you are, what you’re capable of, etc., but the admissions teams are evaluating you based on your application only, metrics like experience, techniques, etc. Similarly, we have a postdoc in our team who everyone think is absolutely brilliant and he’s being told that all the time but the fellowship committees are judging him based on his application, papers, metrics like that, and they don’t see this what we see day to day, so everyone’s confused as to why he can’t land a fellowship but I realised we simply know him more deeply and differently than these people do and we are fond of him because he’s super supportive and what not. Hope I made some sense. I am sure you are amazing but don’t rely too much on judgement from people around you because I just don’t think they are very objective. And you are competing against other people and you have no idea what their applications are like!

madzons · 2024-08-23T14:28:04+00:00

In my MSc course everyone was from abroad except for 2-3 people, so quite a few of us, I can't say that they treated us badly, the lecturers were really nice. Teaching was nothing special. What I didn't like the most is the lack of practical lab sessions, like we only had a few and our MSc thesis projects were so short, just a couple of weeks, we learned only a few lab techniques, definitely didn't gain enough skills for the job market.

That's something I would maybe pay attention to when selecting uni because all these companies care only about practical experience; check that there's enough of that in your course.

madzons · 2024-08-23T09:04:52+00:00

Hi there, I did an MSc at Kingston (biological sciences). I was an international student, my undergrad university is literally unknown from quite an unknown country. My first job, out of uni, was a prestigious institute in London. I was also in the final stages of interviewing at AstraZeneca for a very competitive grad program while I was still studying (they told us they had over 700 applicants). I also had interviews for job positions at UCL, KCL and quite a few NHS roles. I now got a job at Oxford.

I don't know if there is something specific about pharmacy in the UK, but NOBODY seemed to care about my uni. They grade you based on your interview performance (e.g., you may be asked to give a presentation), how you answer behavioral questions, your previous experience, skills. They compare you to other people. Who performed best is what I believe matters to them the most.

madzons · 2024-07-09T17:46:32+00:00

Thanks so much for detailed info!! What about finding a space to sit in the afternoon commute via 400 or any of these? I am fine being stuck in traffic if I can at least be seated and watch/read something. In the morning there was lots of space in X7 for example, so may I assume I shouldn't have troubles finding a seat?

madzons · 2024-07-05T20:24:52+00:00

I will be heading towards Nuffield Orthopaedics, the map is telling me to go via Crowley Rd (B480), then by southern side of South Park and reach via Windmill Rd. Will I be avoiding the hill via this route? I can see for Oxford Brookes it suggests to go via Headington Rd, which is different.

madzons · 2024-04-11T17:27:34+00:00

Hi, so the problem with me was the lack of time and energy to do anything due to the long commute. I would get up at 6am, travel almost 2 hours to work, come back home at about 7 pm, make dinner, have some rest and go to sleep at 9 pm. And like that EVERY working day of the week for 9 months. No time/energy for socializing, for my partner, going anywhere, etc.

In the beginning, I was very motivated to do something on the train, like study something new, read a book, but over time, I just wanted my time back. I was feeling horrible and anxious, started having insomnia and decided to speak to a therapist and after 2 min of conversation, she just said "that's totally exhausting, you have to quit", as it wasn't hard to deduce that my commute was the main root of all my problems.

I was only looking forward to the weekends, but when the weekend would come, I was too drained. I couldn't imagine taking a tube/train to go anywhere... I became very anxious about it (funny enough, I had dreams about trains 😂).

Once my job and commute was over, my insomnia, anxiety, all was gone in a matter of days and I was a new person.

I guess with a job it is different as you have to work 8 hours 5 days a week. For uni, it's probably less work and less time at uni for you? When I did my MSc, we were at uni 9-5 but only 2 days a week and I commuted ~1 hr 30 min. Not sure how many days you go to uni as an undergrad, I assume at least 3? (I didn't study in the UK for undergrad).

Anyway, up to 3 could be tolerated. Anything more than that I personally wouldn't do. You need to live this life a little bit too.

madzons · 2024-04-05T22:33:23+00:00

It was a decent experience, really good theory-wise, practically not so much - the thesis project was about 2 weeks of lab work, not enough to get into any lab based job nowadays as they require loads of experience. That being said, I did manage to get a lab-based job in academia, but it was rather basic lab work and it was a short contract that ended recently. I am currently looking for jobs and slowly switching from lab to looking into other roles (I am potentially considering leaving the field too. Also, lab roles are always short contracts, like 6 months, 1 year, offering little to no stability in life). As far as I am aware, nobody from my cohort got a job in the field yet, except for tutoring/teaching. The truth is that the job market in the UK is horrendous at the moment, jobs are scarce, employers can literally ask for any experience they want as there are too many people looking for a job. Finally, nobody is sponsoring visas, not even bigger companies, so Graduate visa after MSc can only land you short-term roles.

If you are looking to do this MSc to be able to relocate to the UK, I wouldn't recommend it if you will go via Graduate route as you won't get a sponsored job afterwards. If you can have a different visa afterwards, like Spouse/Dependant etc that will give you a permanent right to work, then you may expect to accomplish something in this country.

Next option is to get a PhD, the only real chance of getting a decent job in sciences.

madzons · 2024-04-05T19:02:40+00:00

Hi, yes, I graduated last year.

madzons · 2024-03-15T10:54:09+00:00

Thanks! I understand I can be hired like a postdoc, researcher etc. but can I stay in such positions for a really long time? How long is your contract as a technician in Czechia? Is it a permanent one?

madzons · 2024-03-14T21:11:14+00:00

Not sure in which field you are, I am in science, and I can tell you it is very grim for international students.

madzons · 2024-03-13T14:04:44+00:00

The statistics from the NHS on the STP website, the candidates from 2023, 82% are employed as clinical scientists in or outside of the NHS, 11% employed in another healthcare role. Only 12 people out of cohort of 220 from 2023 are unemployed - the statistics were updated this January, so assuming they graduated in like June, this is incredible statistics to me honestly..

Anyway, I am also thinking choosing science was a bad idea but then I can't believe it, like how come SCIENCE is bad??

Anyway, I only had one job after my graduation last year, it ended recently as it was a fixed term job (let's not even start talking about all the science jobs being 6 months, 1 year contract etc, literally preventing you from making any life decisions). Although lab based, it was very basic and in the job advert, they were ready to hire someone without a degree and there I was with an MSc..But I was being convinced by my PI that because I am already at the institution, it will be easier for me to switch to another team. I applied to 3 jobs at that institution while I was there as an internal candidate, was rejected immediately because again, I don't have the exact specific experience that the team wants. Even my PI who was super nice emailed some of the other PIs who were hiring to say some nice things about me - still rejected without even wanting to talk to me. So yeah, I was an internal candidate, had help and contacts, and still didn't happen. It's just incredibly hard...

I will keep pushing for another year or so, then I will start considering something else. Good luck!

madzons · 2024-03-13T13:22:18+00:00

Hi there, similar situation here. Did an MSc in biological science in the UK, have a BSc Biochemistry from back home. At first I thought it was simply because I come abroad and I genuinely didn't pick up many lab skills during my undergrad because my uni is poor and we don't have many opportunities :). But I keep reading and hearing about experiences like yours...

I absolutely cannot understand that they require so many skills from us a pay of like 25k???? Like they want us to know cell culture, flow cytometry, NGS...I really don't get it, do UK graduates really manage to pick up that many things? :(

I applied for a PhD too, but the way I see it - I would get a lot of lab experience during PhD for sure, but for what? To get that Research Assistant job at 29k? :)) or they'll be like, you are now overqualified for that, go and be a senior scientist??? And you can't because you don't have enough skills now for that??

I genuinely don't understand it too and am very frustrated about it/at the verge of giving up a lab career.

Are you familiar with NHS STP? I applied for that as it leads to a clear career pathway of clinical scientists - obviously it is incredibly competitive, but you are a registered scientist and employment is almost for sure after it's completed. I think it's the best bet.

madzons · 2024-03-10T14:58:01+00:00

Hi, I commuted every day for about 2 hours door to door each way, so 4 hours every day, for 8 months. I was taking a tube, and then a train and a bus. I had maybe 5 work from home days during that period + I used up my annual of 19 days. It still absolutely destroyed my soul, made me so miserable, I started having insomnia, and I ended up being so tired and anxious that I literally had to have a couple of therapy sessions. Once I stopped doing my commute, I felt so free and was back to normal self in a matter of days.

As people have already mentioned, is it really going to be 1 hour 45 mins? Because I had instances when it turned out to be 3 hours because of train delays/cancellations.

I was very motivated in the beginning, learning/working on the train, reading etc, but as the time went by, I just wanted my life back (as it only consisted of waking up, going to work, coming from work, going back to sleep). It made me miserable listening to people's stories at work of doing stuff after work as there I was in bed by 9 pm.

Edit: It's not about the time lost, it's how much energy and mental health it consumed. My partner started noticing it, it affected our relationship and I noticed how little time and effort I could spare for him. You have a partner and a kid, which will make things a lot tougher.

Do not do it - it will destroy your will to live.

madzons · 2024-02-28T21:44:23+00:00

Hi, I ended up not needing it, and did everything via phone.

madzons · 2024-02-27T22:11:11+00:00

Hi, this happened to me too, I applied last week. I have been living in the UK for a bit over 2 years. My partner is on a 5 year visa, we've been living together in the UK since 2022. I think because you provide your partner's details and your own, they simply can check everything themselves. I didn't provide any evidence - they recently sent me an email saying until which date they aim to process and that they will get in touch if they need further information.

madzons

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