by Nerd21 » Sat Mar 20, 2021 2:06 pm
Hello! I am also a PhD applicant. I have had three interviews but two of these came because I marketed myself by reaching out to facilities. I have learned a couple things when reaching out to these facilities. One is that it is a massive investment for SFs to take on PhDs, so they are going to make sure that you check every single box for what they are looking for; and they may only be looking for one PhD. It's more about your specific skills and you need to make it clear that a bachelors/masters could not have the same skills as you. Second, majority of the scientists at these facilities are lab techs so they may not have any positions higher up where a PhD would be; but this really just depends on the SF. Third, PhDs are of less abundance at these SFs BUT of extreme value. So if you don't get it this year, try again next year and reach out to every SF you are interested in before you even hear about semi finalist announcements and then follow up after. I did this and received interviews with both facilities I reached out to.
Hello! I am also a PhD applicant. I have had three interviews but two of these came because I marketed myself by reaching out to facilities. I have learned a couple things when reaching out to these facilities. One is that it is a massive investment for SFs to take on PhDs, so they are going to make sure that you check every single box for what they are looking for; and they may only be looking for one PhD. It's more about your specific skills and you need to make it clear that a bachelors/masters could not have the same skills as you. Second, majority of the scientists at these facilities are lab techs so they may not have any positions higher up where a PhD would be; but this really just depends on the SF. Third, PhDs are of less abundance at these SFs BUT of extreme value. So if you don't get it this year, try again next year and reach out to every SF you are interested in before you even hear about semi finalist announcements and then follow up after. I did this and received interviews with both facilities I reached out to.