[AminurRahman]

(Original post by clareramos)
Have my PhD and wondering is there anything higher/past a PhD or something that would be worth getting that is below a PhD anyone got any suggestions?

Yeah, you can obtain a higher doctorate such as, DLitt, DTech, DSc, DM or MD, LLD, DD, although you tend to lose your title Dr. It takes about 5 years to gain one of them, and they are much more valued within academia. For example, if you were a lecturer, it could take you from a Dr to becoming a Professor. You can also do Post-Doctoral qualifications as part of CPD to further your knowledge. You can even try and earn honorary doctorates from your university DUniv

[kka25]

(Original post by the_alba)
I'm in a similar position to you, OP. I got my PhD about eight months ago, but by the time I got it I was quite sure that I no longer wanted to be an academic: academic culture in my subject (English) had changed in horrible ways in a very short amount of time (a panic reaction to the terrible decisions the government was making about how to renovate *ahem-destroy-ahem* the HE system, presumably). I also found that I just didn't enjoy it: disliked the teaching, really hated the conference networking, etc.

I'm also at a loss for what to do. My PhD is not really transferable to anything other than academia, and I've spent so long in the cloisters that I don't have any work experience apart from university teaching (which is not ideal, as I have no interest in going into teaching). Right now I'm wracking my brains to think of other things I am interested in, so that I can do a bit of a reverse ferret and get on some sort - any sort - of career ladder. There's also the problem of people not wanting to hire me because they see me as over-qualified for everything, which I am. Whatever I do, it's probably not going to be as good in other people's eyes as being a university lecturer, so I've been struggling with coming to grips with this adjustment - thinking I'm a failure and so on, even though I've *chosen* not to try for an academic career, I haven't actually failed.

This post is rambling and not that helpful, sorry! But I do understand the position you're in. At the moment, I'm still at the 'I like nature - maybe I can get some kind of nature job; I've always liked toys, are toy-related jobs a thing?; gymnastics is a cool sport, I wonder how much a coach gets paid' etc etc Flailing about, in other words. If you can think of some other thing you'd like to do, then you can start thinking about what you need to do to achieve it, but that's different from randomly trying to think of some other qualification you could get without some purpose behind it. I thought maybe working in a uni library would be a good answer - pretty sure I'd need some extra MA or PGDip for that, so maybe I'll look into it.

Good luck, anyway. I feel your pain!

I didn't know it can come to this
Thanks for sharing. Dr. Alba; Personal Coach. I think that sounds nice

[Above.The.Empyrean]

Debt?

[gutenberg]

Maybe a post-doctoral fellowship if you were interested in developing your PhD project into, say, a book or a couple of articles? Although if you think the academic route might not be for you then perhaps it wouldn't be the best route...

[Ghost6]

(Original post by to_ni)
Hey guys as far as I know (With regards to Switzerland, Germany and Austria) most industrial positions require a PhD. Isn´t it the same for the UK?
...So it shouldn´t be that hard to find a position. At least in a science or financing and consulting related field.

Regards

I am quite familiar with Switzerland, in that I have spent an academic term there, and while I am unsure what an "industrial position" really means, I have yet to see a non academic position in business or finance that strictly requires a PhD. It seems like most of the time some graduate school, e.g. a master's, plus relevant experience can be a substitute for a PhD or is preferred to a fresh PhD. On the other hand, a relevant PhD is often considered the equivalent of a 3 years of relevant experience for jobs that require research skills.

[Dreamer1257]

1. Get a job
2. Get another degree
3. Teach your degree

Nothing is more than a PhD becuase a Phd is the most respected of degrees. Add expirience and you're invincible in your field if you know what you're doing lol.

[*Elizabeth*]

I'm retraining to be a chartered psychologist

[clareramos]

Not going to quote everyone, but some people need to READ as things have been said on the first page that seem to crop over a few times.

Thank you for people's suggestions, and glad to know that i'm not the only one.

I have no debt and may look at retraining, or may see if I can go down adventurous activities route some more or theatrical route some more, as have some qualifications, such as a foundation degree for technical theatre already, and pretty sure there's more qualifications out there, it's just finding them.

[to_ni]

(Original post by Ghost6)
I am quite familiar with Switzerland, in that I have spent an academic term there, and while I am unsure what an "industrial position" really means, I have yet to see a non academic position in business or finance that strictly requires a PhD. It seems like most of the time some graduate school, e.g. a master's, plus relevant experience can be a substitute for a PhD or is preferred to a fresh PhD. On the other hand, a relevant PhD is often considered the equivalent of a 3 years of relevant experience for jobs that require research skills.

Jap, I totally agree. That´s what I´ve heard as well. I meant a position like, let´s say, industrial researcher or a senior technical position (management position)

Regards