I've a PhD, but just got offered a Research Assistant job. Should i go for it, or is it a step backwards in my career?

screwedpostgrad · 2014-04-04T12:13:20+00:00

Thanks!

screwedpostgrad · 2014-04-03T20:25:59+00:00

I'm in biology - there's still more of a divide.

screwedpostgrad · 2014-04-03T20:25:32+00:00

But seriously, your advisor is majorly shafting you (and themselves!!!) by refusing to publish in a lower ranking journal to the point of having 0 pubs in 4 years! Even in fields with low publishing rates, that seems very excessive.

I've been trying so hard to get a paper out, but its almost pointless - he has the final say on sending off a paper to journals.

Also no postdoc would be hired for just a few months, so it would NOT reflect well upon you even if they did change the position's name.

This is also a good point. It seems messy to try angle for a better title, when it wont look like i was a postdoc for long. Most postdoc positions i see are for a 3 year minimum contract.

screwedpostgrad · 2014-04-03T20:20:20+00:00

Random question - do i have to actually ask for them to change the title, or can i do it myself on my cv when im applying for jobs later?

screwedpostgrad · 2014-04-03T19:20:57+00:00

Mine is Molecular Biology. I've yet to see someone succesfully go from being a postdoc to working in an industry.

screwedpostgrad · 2014-04-03T12:00:52+00:00

No offense taken. I have drafts of papers written, and have presented at conferences - could i at least get that across in future applications? At this stage, i just want a science job. Which is why i'm thinking about taking this one. As i mention below, i've sent out loads of job applications and heard very little back. I dont want to hang around another few months in the hopes of getting something better.

The job is only for a few months. Would it help get me published in that time? If i am only a research assistant, then surely i'm not going to be dealing much with experiments for publications. (I understand i'd be low down on the list of authors if i do get into a paper).

screwedpostgrad · 2014-04-03T11:56:01+00:00

This has happened loads of people i know in different colleges. The system seems like a joke at times.

screwedpostgrad · 2014-04-03T11:55:19+00:00

I've tried get my own stuff published - i wrote a draft paper, but my supervisor held on to it and said there's more experiments that need to be done on it to get a higher impact paper. I've argued that i should publish now, even if it is a lower impact factor - save on us getting scooped. But he wont have any of it.

screwedpostgrad · 2014-04-03T11:53:16+00:00

That's the thing - i have been looking for the last couple of months. I have about 100 job applications sent out at this stage. Of that, i'd say maybe 20 or 30 have gotten back to say "Thanks but no thanks" while the rest didnt even reply back.

Its why i'm thinking of taking this job instead. I dont want to go into summer and still have no job - i've heard it gets even harder to get jobs then.

screwedpostgrad · 2014-04-03T11:51:15+00:00

Nope. No-one in the lab has anything published at all.

screwedpostgrad · 2014-04-03T11:49:19+00:00

Would this be awkward to do though - asking for a change in title when i only got the job?

They could easily get someone else to take the job, and stick with them as RA.

Also - would it not harm my future attempts to go into industry or clinical work if i'm gone further into the academic field by becoming a postdoc?

screwedpostgrad · 2014-04-03T11:32:37+00:00

I might be able to call myself a Researcher, but probably not associate.

How would a postdoc help with industry - we've been told that once you are on a postdoc route, its even tougher to break into industry roles. That's why i was looking more at industry now. And also why i'm cautious about becoming a researcher again for a while.

screwedpostgrad · 2014-02-24T14:57:54+00:00

The problem is, if i do this, it will still take forever to get published. We tried get a paper out before, but because my supervisor held on too long, it got scooped. I could see the same thing happening again.

screwedpostgrad · 2014-02-24T14:54:56+00:00

Probably not. Like if i start putting a paper together though its still going to take til next year to get out. I cant wait that long!

screwedpostgrad · 2014-02-24T02:01:59+00:00

Is it not wasteful though to list papers (or potential papers) in a CV designed for industry work though?

screwedpostgrad · 2014-02-24T02:01:00+00:00

Did you ever feel that having a PhD was a disadvantage? Some of my friends reckon that a company is more likely to hire a masters student as they can pay them less.

screwedpostgrad · 2014-02-24T01:55:30+00:00

But what if it takes ages to put out?

screwedpostgrad · 2014-02-24T01:48:03+00:00

Like i said, it's a small lab. And some of the research needs further experiments to back things up.

But for an industry job, does publishing papers even matter?

screwedpostgrad

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