What else except for research? - (Sep/11/2012 )

But what happened to the astronaut post (among other things?) cos I kinda agree that one has to know their limits (to avoid feeling big time frustration) and that it is always possible to work around such limitations....and even if life is hard or expensive (where isn't it not?), how many still try to survive even with having less than what the returning scientists have? It's good that you got some clues here and that you're determined to resolve your problems. Good luck then...

To add to Casandra's comments above: kudos for doing most of the stuff on your own. On top you have several publications. Double-kudos. This means you are good. And you became even better because you survived. I know of others in your situation who didn't survive and they were lost. In my opinion, you should take a long walk and relax and think what you really-really want to do. Not what society expects you to do. what your parents/partner expect you to do. what do you want to do? I believe that you would make it in research, if you decide that actually, the reason you started a PhD in the first place was the love for research. But, if you want to have money or a family with whom you have a normal relationship based on seeing them for dinner every night, then go to industry/consulting etc. etc. Teaching... hmm does not bring you money, not research satisfaction...maybe the warm feeling inside from molding the future generation, really, most of them don't want to be molded anyhow But this is just me. In the end of the day, a PhD is a confirmation of the mind/spirit (smth they keep on telling us over and over in my university city in all the speeches) My bottom line is: a PhD title is like a title that you are an extremely educated/intelligent person. You can do whatever you want, from writing articles in the science section of your daily newspaper or consulting for patent lawyers or human resources in a company that has an R&D department based on life sciences/chemistry. You are basically an expert on nothing and everything.

With going back to your own country, reply at Casandra: many countries, like China, might have these programs to support the people to come back home and do research, but as far as I have heard for both China and my home country, Romania, they are a joke. They just sound good on paper but they crumble after the first wind of reality. I know of people going back to China for a professorship and doing only lecturing and not having a proper lab until they gave up and gone back to UK for a postdoc. aka from professor to postdoc. And about Romania, among my network of friends that studied abroad and consider going back, the rumor has it that it is still not the time: many have gotten tricked in going back and not they regret it. So: it might sound nice in principle, but in practice, it does not work. And anyhow, I am now in Germany for long enough time to actually apply for the citizenship and stay here forever and ever. And I will just do so, because as you have said: they make it easy for us to get work permits and residence permits. I got both of them with no problem: fill in a form and both of them are without end.

ascacioc on Wed Sep 19 21:34:29 2012 said:

Well, it will never be the same- the standard of living, the opportunities and more importantly the level of research that returning scientists will be going back to in their home countries but at least it's a start even if it looks good on paper only (I personally know some Chinese researchers and medical doctors who returned and are quite happy enough so it's not exactly a joke...one of their main concerns though is the pollution but there's enough work for them to do and it's a struggle most of the time)...but it shld get better eventually (if more highly qualified people come back, with more gov't funding or international collaborations etc) otherwise, we should just all be resigned to the fact that the centers of science (research) and technology would only stay in the west and in developed economies and that there is no more hope for the others knowing that nobody is willing to take a risk or sacrifice enough to make things work or who'd care enough to put a stop to the brain drain. But like I said, if that's the way cookie crumbles (or how the gel runs), then it's fine with us cos it's our gain

I applied for 3 academic jobs in my country just yesterday. Wish me luck....Most probably it will be turned down, but let's just hope they approve me....

So that's where you were Best of luck. Keeping my fingers crossed... and if they don't take you: Europe is always looking for good scientists Malaysia's loss is our win

Not really Andrea, I did my MSc in UK, but I couldn't study PhD since it was really expensive and they didn't give full scholarship to non-EU students. The only scholarship available to non-EU students was called ORS or something, but that only paid GBP 7K per year and it was almost half of the GBP 11k university fee. I worked part time at Cafe Rouge in Colchester during my MSc, and at night I guarded a residential house for the elderly. I didn't have to, but I did it because I wanted to be independent and didn't want to receive support from my parents. The pay was not bad to maintain myself, but then I thought I couldn't do the same part time jobs in my PhD. Since I graduated with distinction my supervisor introduced me to one of her collaborators in Giessen, Germany. That time German universities were free (not sure about now). So I came down to Giessen in early 2006. But right after my arrival the supervisor claimed his grant application was turned down and he couldn't support me in the first year of my PhD. I was like what the hell, the guy has articles in Nature and Science, how unlucky I could be. I calculated how much money I needed to survive the first year of my PhD with no funding and it was almost Eur 8K. I was right in the middle of the calculation that I got a full scholarship offer from Malaysia. I immediately packed and jumped into the plane and here I am now...things were pretty good here, they gave me a 3-bedroom apartment, and after 3 months I bought a second-hand car with my savings. The research is not first-class here, but they have this program that they are absorbing forigners to develop their research...Now I am doing my postdoc, the pay is much better than UK's. If I were in UK I would have only got GBP 2500-3000 per month, and that is not enough at all.

Overall I am happy here, but the problem is that the research in here or in my own country won't satisfy me enough. I know I can be better than this, I want to grow and learn more. I know I have the talent to publish better articles. I'm still young and haven't reached the point that I need to sit down and relax...not yet...but it is like the moment people read my CV, and see where I got my PhD from, they turn down my postdoc application...I think they don't even reach the last page where the names of my American referees are....now I keep thinking maybe I should have borrowed money from someone and paid my living expenses in Germany to get a world-class degree....I really regret it....but you never know what's gonna happen tomorrow.

Curtis on Wed Sep 26 04:51:49 2012 said:

and I had always thought you were originally from KL, Curtis....good luck and it's always better to keep the half-glass full attitude....

No, I'm not Asian

Curtis on Wed Sep 26 11:35:41 2012 said:

It's their loss, if you are good researcher shown by your research record. Wherever u are from should not matter. Even if you are from antartica and u knows how things works and you have done those things. You are suitable person always.

oh my dear prabhubct, you are so innocent and naive. It actually does not matter at all what you know; it only matters whom with you worked. I have been in admission rounds in several things in which I was really talking to... not so good scientist (ok, in my arrogant mind those are idiots or quasi-idiots) and they got in just because they worked with that or that great scientist. I know people with PhD in biology who, on religious grounds deny evolution, and because their CV says that they did a PhD with that or the other quasi-Nobel laureate, all doors are open for them. I know of people who have no clue how to clone and purify a protein (besides it is His-tagged and overexpresses like hell behind a T7 promoter) and they are receiving a junior professorship in biochemistry just because the right person recommended them (even though I wouldn't have given them the PhD title in the first place). I have seen people with PhDs in biochemistry who in their defense besides not-knowing to explain the principle behind their main method that they have used for 4 years, she also did not know how to draw a peptide bond; a simple amide, and that girl has a bachelor in chemistry. All these poor idiots are perfectly fine and all of them will become professors, while the good scientists will never have the chance, unless they are postdocs for 15-20 years. Where I am, the maximum postdoc time is 4-6 years. Some get professorship even after PhD. You need the right pedigree. Wake up and smell the coffee. You must know the game and how to play the game; not only to be a great scientist. Besides the science, you must know and be willing to cheat, steal, kill in order to get ahead. Something that I will work my entire life to change. Starting will failing PhD students in their defenses and not making the PhD student the main life form in research labs. But this is another story