So the two research jobs I'd found and applied for (yes, there were only two in the Dublin area) have told me they're not interested. (It's like dating!) It turns out that when they say "materials scientist" or "polymer scientist" or simply "research chemist" they really mean "organic chemist". I guess they must like wasting their time, and mine, because they could have, oh, put that important requirement in their ad! But, no.
A friend had also given me a heads-up on a consultancy job, based in Dublin, for a big computery firm. This has nothing to do with science or research as I know it, but it sounds really interesting. It sort of combines economics with a bunch of market and other research. It's for a new office of the company that is supposed to be their "publishing" arm- with publishing in the academic sense. They research and study different economic and business problems, advise on them, and write up the results. This is interesting to me because it combines problem-solving with an area of economics I've always been interested in: human behaviour-y stuff. What incentives and rewards make a person choose to do A instead of B? What could you change in your business/shop/marketing strategy that would change people's behaviour in the direction you want? More importantly, the job ad hinted that they would look favourably upon someone with an academic background.
I'd gone to the career open house for this company, talked to a few people, and was told to leave my CV with the HR person there, which I did. After a week of hearing nothing, I e-mail them, because maybe there's a more formal application process or something. Another week, nothing, not even a response to my e-mail. I e-mail them again and finally get an e-mail back saying I should apply on-line and that they don't accept CVs and applications any other way. I'm very tempted to write back a snarky e-mail about why the hell they asked me to give my CV to their HR person in the first place then, but I will refrain. Because I need a job.
With nothing new coming up in Dublin, I've started looking in the UK. I really would prefer to stay in Ireland for at least another year or two, but the job market seems to be conspiring against this. Plus, if we move, I can finally tell the Department of Justice to kiss my little yellow ass. Honestly, one big advantage of moving out of the country is that I can finally stop being jerked around by the DoJ.
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3 comments:
Would you consider a non-science, non-academic job like minimum wage type of work?
You know, for a while, I thought it would be such a great relief to work at, like, a bookstore. You go in for X number of hours, you do what you're told, and then you're done. That sounded so great.
I have doubts about how long I could keep up a job like that, though. Did you like working at the bakery? Do you recommend it?
Lien, I don't know your situation but if you are on a work authorization/permit/visa/green card, you have to make at least 30,000 a year and be in one of the listed professions. You are supposed to work in the field of your permit/authorization/green card as well. Now, that is different if you have a spouse who you can get a dependancy visa through or if you became a citizen (don't know if you've been here that long).
Also, if you are considering work in the UK, they have a highly qualified worker scheme. It is based on your skills, education, and previous pay and you get it yourself. You have to earn a certain amount of income in the UK to renew it but it isn't tied to employer at all and may be worth looking at. My fiance got one of these and worked a few months in the UK (over a year later hasn't goten his tax back) for a few months before he found work in Ireland.
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