dahd wrote:
>> In article <36103202.63EF at nospam.ic.ac.uk>, a.ferszt at nospam.ic.ac.uk> says...
> >
> >David Lacey wrote:
> >>
> >> I have resently been excepted to a few Ph D programs (U of Arizona
> and U
> >> of Montana) in microbial ecology but am having second thoughts about
> >> entering. Outside of academia, what career options would I have. I
> am
> >> interested in the research and would injoy working on my PhD but with
> the
> >> glut of PHDs that I am told exist what kind of job would I find.
> >>
> >> Dave
> >
> >Without being too rude about it, you may not find a decent job unless
> >your spelling, grammar and punctuation improve. When I've had to look
> at
> >CVs, the ones with mistakes such as you've made were tossed out. There
> >are always other people who can do the job just as well.
>> While you are fundamentally correct, these things are typically ignored
> in newsgroup discussions. The big issue this person will face is
> a very very difficult overcrowded job market. If lucky enough to
> find employment, the salaries usually do not justify the investment
> for earning the degree. In the big scheme of things, the issues
> you raised are irrelevant.
>> No job market= no job= postdoc forever!
>> The situation is nuts, and it is high time it be stoped.
>> Again, see newsgroup discussions at sci.research.careers
The issues I've raised are not irrelevant. In an overcrowded job market,
a sloppy CV and cover letter could easily lose the applicant *any*
chance at getting an interview. I meant what I said about tossing badly
presented applications. Those people were never considered because other
equally qualified people, who took some effort to get things correct,
were given the opportunity of gaining my/our further attention. This is
science we're talking about. A sloppy presentation can easily indicate
sloppy thinking or sloppy work, although this isn't *always* the case.
We (and undoubtedly many others) don't really have time to personally
thoroughly evaluate every single application, no matter how difficult it
is to read. If someone really can't spell and write correctly, they can
at least seek help, which is always readily available. Why shoot
yourself in the foot? Lest you say again it doesn't matter...I once
obtained a research position in a famous department of a famous
university simply because I was the only person who bothered to 'dress
up'. The professor was of the old school, and got fed up with people
turning up in jeans and T-shirts! He told me that he felt that I
respected the position and him, and would probably respect the project
enough to do a good job. Yes it's trivial, but that's life.
