Career advice for a nuclear postdoc?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around career advice for a postdoctoral researcher in nuclear engineering seeking new job opportunities. The focus includes job eligibility, application strategies, and the state of the nuclear industry in the UK, as well as challenges faced by international applicants in defense-related positions.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • One participant suggests applying to any job that partially matches the applicant's skills, noting that employers may value the difficulty of finding a candidate with all required skills.
  • Another participant questions the notion of being "fully or mostly qualified," arguing that ideal candidates do not exist and that matching two-thirds of the job description can still make one a strong candidate.
  • Concerns are raised about the absurdity of some job requirements, particularly in defense sectors, where specific skills can only be acquired through employment.
  • There is a mention of citizenship requirements for certain jobs, which poses a significant barrier for international applicants.
  • A participant reflects on the prevalence of foreign students in graduate programs who may not qualify for jobs requiring citizenship.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express varying views on job application strategies and the qualifications needed for positions. There is no consensus on the best approach to job applications or the implications of job requirements.

Contextual Notes

Participants highlight limitations related to job descriptions, the variability of qualifications among candidates, and the impact of citizenship on job eligibility, but do not resolve these issues.

Kochia
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Hi!

I am on my way to complete a two-year postdoc. I have BSc, MSc and PhD in nuclear engineering. My research focuses are severe accident analysis, thermal-hydraulics and CFD. Since it is very likely that my current employer cannot ensure a future temporary/permanent position, I am looking for new job opportunities. Here are some questions to which I wish I could get some advice from you:

1. I tried to search for the job openings that matched my skill sets and background online (websites such as Indeed and Glassdoor). However, there were few posts to which I feel confident enough to submit my CV. What jobs do you think I am eligible for?

2. I am very interested in living and working in UK. However, I doubt that I could find any positions if I were to stay in my research field. Any information on situation of nuclear industry or academia in UK?

Thank you in advance for possible advice!

Kochia
 
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I would submit your application to any job that even partially matches your skills. It may be that the employer will decide to grab you knowing how difficult it would be to find someone with all the skills needed.

I knew someone once who lost an opportunity once because they felt they didn't "know" something well enough even though they did candidate (confidence or naively excluding opportunities ) and said so at the interview but upon a second interview got hired.
 
jedishrfu said:
I would submit your application to any job that even partially matches your skills. It may be that the employer will decide to grab you knowing how difficult it would be to find someone with all the skills needed.

I knew someone once who lost an opportunity once because they felt they didn't "know" something well enough even though they did candidate (confidence or naively excluding opportunities ) and said so at the interview but upon a second interview got hired.

Thanks for the reply! Well, guess I took it for granted that one should be fully or mostly qualified for the job to get a better chance for interview.
 
What is "fully or mostly qualified"? The job descriptions list the ideal candidate. The ideal candidate does not exist. There is no one applying who has years of experience in every single topic mentioned in the job description. If you match 2/3 of the list, including at least some of the technical parts, you are already a great candidate. If you match 1/2 you might still be a good candidate.
 
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It's actually pretty absurd what some employers list as required skills for jobs. In some defense areas you can only get hired if you know X but you only will ever know X if you get hired(as X is exclusively used by the military).
 
Qurks said:
It's actually pretty absurd what some employers list as required skills for jobs. In some defense areas you can only get hired if you know X but you only will ever know X if you get hired(as X is exclusively used by the military).
True. But such jobs always require citizenship, which is another (major) hurdle for potential applicants from overseas.
 
Kochia said:
True. But such jobs always require citizenship, which is another (major) hurdle for potential applicants from overseas.

Yea, that's one reason I like them.

Graduate school is filled with so many foreign students and none of them will be getting any of those jobs.
 

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