Job Skills I Feel like there is no way I will land a STEM job

[CrysPhys]

Some of it also may depend on how many positions actually turn up in your search area. If there are only a handful of open positions that turn up in a season, well, research away! Why not invest the time? Then I get what Dr. Courtney was saying.

On the other end of the spectrum, I don't know how one actually sends out 100 resumes a day for any real length of time. Are there 3,000 positions in your field you can apply to in a month?

I think most folks are in the middle, where they can and probably should send out a few resumes a day. For me, that calls for some middle ground between shotgunning the same resume everywhere and (at the other extreme) spending inordinate time tailoring your resume for a company that may not even acknowledge you sent it.

^^^Yes.^^^ And some job posts may be for positions that don't actually exist. In expectation of funding for a new project, we would often publish posts in advance to gather resumes, and sometimes even interview promising candidates in advance, so we'd be ready to roll once the funding came through. But if the funding didn't come through ... oh, well, never mind. And then there were the bizarre cases in which an opening did exist, and an existing employee had already been selected to fill it, but HR forced us to post it anyways to satisfy anti-discrimination or diversity (or whatever you call it these days) regulations. Just one of the many reasons why it's so important to develop personal networks (and I don't mean shotgunning people on LinkedIn).

 

[Zap]

On the other end of the spectrum, I don't know how one actually sends out 100 resumes a day for any real length of time. Are there 3,000 positions in your field you can apply to in a month?

50-100 applications per day should be the target. If one actually accomplishes this over the course of a week, they will most likely have to keep track of the callbacks and initial interviews coming their way the following week. If that's the case, no harm in chilling out a bit so you can keep track of which companies are calling you back, research those companies who have and to study up on the positions that are calling you back.

This approach has always worked for me. I got a job offer a few weeks ago. I am waiting on the background check. After which, I should start shortly!

This is just my opinion, though. Others probably have alternative methods for seeking employment that have worked well for them. I am only sharing my perspective.

If you find you can't find 50 applications per day to apply to, than maybe branch out a bit and apply to jobs you normally would not. My approach is for newbies, and being a newbie myself, this is the approach I use. It will get you noticed in one way or another. You might not find your dream job, but you will find something.

i am always applying to jobs related to IT so there’s always a plentiful pool of applications to fill out. Someone with a math or physics degree, with some excel, MATLAB and statistics experience, which you should have, can as well apply to similar jobs.

from my experience, I did not receive any callbacks or interviews until I used this kind of, perhaps controversial, method. So, it’s tried and true for me, but again, this is only my point of view. Others are just as valid, or even more valid. I don’t know.

I'd also like to note that a few weeks ago I was beginning training as a salesforce developer that would have put me in New York City with a decent salary, which I have zero experience with. I decided not to pursue that because the other job I was offered sounded cooler. So, you don't necessarily have to have experience to get a job. I've found business analytics to be somewhat boring, but it's something that even someone with a physics degree could do , and sometimes having only potential is good enough.

 

[homeylova223]

My problem with STEM jobs is I feel they are so picky. So its like what do you prioritize on. For example I saw a job for data analyst for data analyst at telsa. The requirement were sql, python, strong interpersonal skills, strong communication skills, an ability to think outside of the box, the ability to think deductively. And data visualization/analysis skills. So I sometimes I wonder am I better of learning python or learning how to think rationally by reviewing how to do math proof proof by contradiction proof by contrapositive etcetera. Which software am I better off focusing on python,sql, excel sometimes I feel I don't have the time to learn them all.

 

[Vanadium 50]

This doesn't look picky to me.

SQL: This is probably the pickiest, but if their data is in DB2 (or whatever) it's not unreasonable to want the people responsible for looking at it to know how to look at it.

Python: "Hi, I want to want to be a data scientist for you but don't know Python" won't go very far. Other things that won't go very far are:

strong interpersonal skills : "I like alienating my colleagues."
strong communication skills : "My job will be to communicate what I have learned by looking at the data, but I am not good at that"
an ability to think outside of the box: "I will only work on things placed right in front of me. I will do what I am told and only what I am told. If you want a mindless automaton, I'm your guy!"
the ability to think deductively: "Logic is for suckers."

 

[Zap]

Python and SQL are very easy to learn. You will be surprised how user friendly they are.

 

[Mondayman]

I live in a fairly large Canadian city. I don't think its possible to submit 50-100 resumes per day where I live unless you are talking about anything from STEM to manual labor. There just aren't enough jobs around.

 

[Zap]

When I mentioned 50-100 resumes per day, I also mentioned targeting an in-demand job. I do it with IT, because you can find 50-100 job applications per day.

 

[osilmag]

I think I'm kind of slow to grasp concepts and I don't fit in among intellectuals. I lost all my confidence in college despite doing well. I could tell everyone in my lab thought I was stupid and disinterested. I don't have what it takes to just listen to lectures and grasp everything, but put it in writing and I can learn all of it if given enough time. But I always felt rushed in college, so maybe I'm just not smart enough. Imo, most people can learn about anything if given enough time. I would put myself in that boat, but I'm just slow.

I am able to get responses to my applications, but as I am 3 years removed from college, I don't fare very well anymore. I also have no one I can use as a reference from my school.

I studied biochemistry.
Yes, I have a psychiatrist. That is an encouraging story you tell and I will try to keep it in mind.

Sorry guys, I did not mean to join this forum to rant. I wanted to self study physics and be like Tesla. However, just wandering through some of the non-homework stuff on this board made me realize I was out of my element. Threw me into a depressive spiral. This whole Coronavirus thing is bumming me out as well.Honestly, I think it's over. I probably won't be using my degree. Not a big deal as long as I can find something, anything, that I'm decent at and can do for a living.

I would not jump to the conclusion that people think you are stupid especially in biochemistry.

You could always turn that around and call them nerds.

I will also tell you that if you think that you will not get a STEM job, you probably won't get one. Changing your outlook about it could help.