I am just over 30 years and about to finish my PhD. I will obtain my PhD from an EU country, and I must obtain residence permit to keep staying in EU.
My thesis is almost a staple thesis which contains the results of my publications and some introduction. It requires some work, but nothing compared to a writing a thesis from the beginning. Although, I feel so desperate and stuck, I am procrastinating. I am so procrastinating that I did not write a couple of pages since four months now.
I am actively applying to postdocs. Most of them reply with negative results, because the field I'm working on is way too specific and not very popular across Europe. I am afraid that I will have to go back to my country and the application period will start all over again, which means I will never, ever will find a job in Europe. Especially due to current travelling restrictions.
Applying to some industry job is one of the options, but it seems to me like throwing away my PhD and my efforts I put on publishing papers. Because if I start in a company, I will start in junior position with people who just finished their bachelor's degree. I did that almost ten years ago. I do not want to feel like I've wasted ten years of my life.
On the other hand, I do not want to lose my right to apply for a permanent residence permit, which I can obtain only after 5 years of continuous residency. Thus, applying to a company and working for a couple of years seems viable, but then it is extremely hard to go back to academy because I already receive negative replies from faculties now. 2-3 years from now, I will be the same me but after non-productive 2-3 years.
I am literally panicked. On one hand, I want to settle down, and see where my life is going. Thus I am applying to industry (mostly corporate) jobs. On the other hand, I spent many years obtaining academic formation and research is the thing I do passionately, but I am not sure if I can find a postdoc position. Even if I do, it is still a question whether I can find a faculty position.
Have you ever been in a similar situation? If so, how did you deal with it?
