Underemployment

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I was wondering if there were others on here who are employed but the job doesn't match up to their abilities. I have a PhD in Biochemistry from a leading university but I'm 29 have been working in a series of low paid temp jobs as a secretary/administrator for 3 years and depressed. I seem to struggle at the interview stage.
Is it also common to struggle with choosing a career? I get lots of ideas but get overwhelmed choosing and there are factors such as a long travelling time that I get stuck on.
I am waiting for Aspergers assessment but know if have it it is at the milder end. As it is well hidden I hope interview adjustments will help.

You're talking about "underemployment", which is extremely common. Although I only have a BA degree, I can relate to what you're saying. Although I know the economy sucks right now, I'd like to think that after spending all that time and money on a college education, I could get a job beyond minimum wage. But I haven't accomplished that yet. Right now, I'm working in a bookstore, which is the same job I had as a high school student.

I'm having a lot of trouble choosing a career as well. I don't want to just have random low-paying jobs for the rest of my life, but like you, I get overwhelmed making decisions and stuck in the minutiae. I also feel like my past career decisions have been bad, so I'm hesitant to make another one. Same with investing in more education, when what I have so far has gotten me nowhere.

Thanks for your reply and thanks for giving me the proper term for it, I was floundering around looking for the right words!

I have a B.A. in two disciplines and a law degree. Although I lack focus on an objective and chose not to practice law, the bad economy has kept me in a situation where while I have money coming in to pay the bills, I'm well below what I need to be making overall, and the bad economy means very few opportunities worth going after and even longer odds of being the one selected when they do come along.

It is easy to fall of the wagon with phd. Even 1 year of unemployment is dangerous but 3 on non-related low paid jobs is very, very bad. I would never say impossible but very very bad. That is why most people are stuck doing postdocs for years because if you one get off the research track it is almost impossible to get back in. Than the degree is more of a hindrance than advantage since no one would pay you as a phd and you are overqualified for normal BA or BS jobs and won't fit well for that level.

There is a strict timeline of career progression if you want to be a full-time faculty-scientist somewhere. Can you finish some 1year of MA in education and that would make you more qualified for some college teaching. Or alternatively some good high school, they earn well and your phd will be advantage there.

good luck.

I do think it is harder for "people like us" to win the job interview.
I'll admit to often being lucky to get jobs through rather quirky situations.
But know AS people, an engineer and a physics major, who never worked in their fields.

And right now the high unemployment and tight economy don't help.
Are you in the USA? You should try to government, USAJOBS website.
But you might have to be willing to move.

The Fed hires based on a limited number of criteria, as long as you meet them you get in.
It's much less 'personal' than a private corporation who can hire on looks and personality, plus degree.
The Fed doesn't care if you have gray hair or green hair or weigh 400 pounds.
Or just got your degree at 56.

Once you are in the Fed, you can then change agencies, or move around the country for better jobs.
Already being a Fed employee is a plus.

Good Luck!

I'm in the UK

I can relate in that I am also underemployed. In my case, however, I deliberately left my field of study a few years ago, and I do not ever see myself returning to that field. (The reasons behind this are complex and multifaceted, so for the sake of brevity, I will not go into the details.) I did some temporary work for about a year, until I found my current job. I am well suited for this job in the sense that it requires very little interaction with other people. (I hate all of the office politics and social networking that goes on in most office jobs.) The catch is, it is a low level job.

You did not mention what sort of work you would like to do. If it is not the typical academic job, you might want to take a look at the book, " 'So What Are You Going to Do with That?': Finding Careers Outside Academia", written by Susan Basalla and Maggie Debelius. Although it is an interesting book, how useful it will be probably depends on your level of functioning. (My level of functioning seems to be getting worse with age.) There are some other books about building a career in academia (e.g. "A PhD Is Not Enough: A Guide To Survival In Science", by Peter J. Feibelman), but I am not sure how much help they will be to you at this stage. As AnotherOne pointed out, it is difficult to get back in to academia once you leave.

With regards to interviews, a couple of years ago I purchased and read the e-book, "How to Impress for Success at Job Interviews", written by Vaughan Vandenberg < http://www.interviewsolution.com/ >. It has some useful, concrete suggestions in it. The one caveat is I think that book is targeted more towards people who are in typical office jobs, working their way up the corporate ladder. For a variety of reasons, that is not me, nor will it ever be. I am sure there are other books that are just as good, if not better. Also, I know there are a couple of books about Asperger's syndrome and the workplace, but I have never read any of them, so I do not know how helpful the are with respect to interviews. Finally, there are some free tips in these two articles:
"10 Interview Questions Decoded"
http://msn.careerbuilder.com/Article/MS ... s-Decoded/
"What Not to Say During a Job Interview"
http://www.realsimple.com/work-life/eti ... page3.html

Anyway, I hope you can find something that better suits you.