It’s August! Each month I track what I’m up to since finishing the PhD and this month is no different. Previously I said that I wouldn’t try to get a conventional job for the moment and instead would make the most of my time by developing myself and my skills whilst helping others. Well, this month in fact I applied for my first post-doctoral job!
Read on to find out why I applied for a postdoc role, what I got up to in July and my plans for August. You can see goals I set for myself for July in last month’s report here.
How I spent my time in July
Other includes maintaining my bike and helping my sister prepare for an interview.
In July I spent more hours being productive than any other month since finishing the PhD. The 138 hours averages to six hours a day for each weekday of the month. Though some of these things really aren’t work, for example reading books!
I mentioned at the end of my last report how I wanted to better manage my time and I think this has helped a little. Certainly I balanced my time more equally between projects and ended up spending roughly equal amounts on academic work, this website and coding.
Academic work
Publications
Previously I’ve referred to a number of papers from my PhD work which are all in various states of journal submission. Here was their status as of early July:
- Paper A – still under review.
- Paper B – got rejected early in July, but with five pages of comments from the five (!) reviewers so had a lot of useful suggestions to improve the paper.
- Paper C – in draft stage and was due to be my academic priority.
- I also have a Paper D I’ve not mentioned before. This was the final chapter of my thesis and the lowest priority to try and get published. It was very much a pilot study and I was never sure if it could get published but planned to consider trying to publish it later in the year.
In the middle of July a colleague reminded me of a special issue of a journal which is relevant to my whole PhD. It was an easy decision to send Paper B there with some tweaks based off of reviewers’ feedback. But I also can’t help but try and take on extra work for myself, so I decided to also try and submit Paper D to the journal too.
Therefore I spent about a week solidly getting both these manuscripts up to scratch. I’m really happy to have put the work in and now Paper D stands a chance of getting published. Much better than just collecting dust on a computer drive.
[For Paper C] “July task: read at least one paper a day until the literature review is finished. Start the analysis.“
I did make some progress with Paper C before work on the other two took over, though I’m happy having a break from papers for August!
Applying for my first postdoc
I originally had no intentions of applying for any jobs for the moment. But my girlfriend was having a quick look at what was out there and found a potential post-doc position. The work sounds interesting and it would be a chance to apply some of my new coding experience to diagnose diseases.
A few things drew me to this job:
- An opportunity to further develop the coding experience I’ve been working on over the last few months
- Interesting and positive for society
- Convenient: Short term/flexible/local
I don’t want to share the details just yet, but essentially I wasn’t sure I’d be a good fit (background not in computer science). I therefore decided to email the academic and clarify some details of their expectations. Personally I think this is a good idea. It saves you potentially wasting time on the application, going to the interview or even starting a role you’re not a good fit for.
Ultimately, I decided to apply. Not including my PhD applications, I last applied for a job back in 2013!
No matter how it goes, I want to point out that the coding courses I’ve worked on since the PhD were very useful to be able to included on my application. Lifelong learning is good!
Now, I’m not naive. I realise these positions are competitive and that applying for one job isn’t a good approach to guarantee success. But I’m not in a normal situation thanks to consciously built up savings, therefore I’m not set on getting a job.
My current thoughts are that:
- If I get it, I’m happy: I get paid to learn new skills and have a new experience to add to my CV. Result: Good outcome!
- If I don’t get it, I’m happy: I get to carry on as I am at the moment, with complete freedom which I’m really enjoying. Result: Also a good outcome!
Either way I’m happy. I assume interviews will take place in August so will keep you updated!
Other academic-related things
The abstract I submitted last month for the virtual biomedical science seminar series was accepted! This means on the 27th August I’ll be giving my first presentation since the one I gave at my PhD defence. Register for free if you fancy tuning in!
Mentoring
Earlier in the year I signed up to mentor with the Prince’s Trust. Last month I mentioned some problems currently with their system and well, the ball has been dropped. Sadly I’ve not spoken to my mentee all month, which is partly my own fault for not proactively finding workarounds.
August task: Get back in touch with my mentee.
The Savvy Scientist website
New posts are now steadily being released every Thursday and five new posts went live in July:
- Beyond the PhD: July 2020
- Do you need a master’s degree to do a PhD?
- PhD Profiles: Floor, CDT PhD Graduate in Regenerative Medicine, University of Nottingham
- When to submit your PhD research to a journal
- Save money as a student: cook delicious & nutritious meals on a budget!
In August I’m beginning a new approach with when I write posts. I plan to focus on the website pretty much full-time for the first week of the month, scheduling content in advance for the coming weeks. I’m hoping this will free up my time for other interests, without weekly post deadlines constantly looming. We’ll see how that goes.
It seems that most readers are prospective PhD students and it is great to be able to help. I’m also really enjoying writing more widely applicable content, such as the post about saving money on food. I’d like to be able to sneak in more posts like this in the future. Let me know if you have any feedback or suggestions.
In July there were 5484 unique views (+1.7% compared to June), by 3890 users (+13%). These unique views include traffic from Quora, which has fluctuated dramatically in the past few months. I’m therefore particularly happy to see the number of organic users reaching the site from Google growing steadily to 3181 (+18%):
“July action: answer one Quora question a week in my weekly slot.“
My plan to write more frequently on Quora fell apart pretty quickly. I did write an answer the first week but that was it for the month! The problem I think is deciding which questions to answer. Partially because I was feeling a bit of pressure after my first answer was really popular. I ought to just write. One answer a week is hardly much!
August action: actually answer one Quora question a week in my weekly slot.
Learning new skills
Computing
In June I completed my first Coursera course and in July I wanted to get back on with Andrew Ng’s machine learning course. A few months ago I had started it, fell behind and ended up re-enrolling. I set myself the task in July of completing weeks 3 to 6.
“July task: Complete weeks 3-6 of the Machine Learning course.“
To refresh my memory I actually ended up redoing the first few weeks again.
Midway through week 4 I ran into some issues with the quirks of programming in Octave. There have been a few instances where I’ve been caught out where I understand the theory but don’t know Octave well enough. I’m doing this course to get an understanding of ML rather than to become a whizz at Octave, so haven’t been too worried about not fully getting all the solutions for the Octave implementation.
Anyhow I’ve now completed up to week 7:
There are still five weeks left. Getting another four done in August would be good.
August task: complete weeks 7-10 of the Machine Learning course.
Meditation
On the 31st of July I had meditated for 99 days in a row and now writing this at the start of August I’m at over 100 days, woo! The habit has stuck!
Throughout my meditation journey I’ve been cheap and always used a free Headspace account.
Recently, I was about to upgrade to the paid subscription then read some bad reviews. I’ve therefore decided to hold fire why I trial alternatives. I’ve begun trying out a few other meditation apps as well as simply setting a timer on my phone. I’ll report back what I find works best and it would be great to hear your recommendations as well.
No matter which way I go with it the habit has stuck and I find meditation a useful addition to my life. Give it a go if you don’t already meditate!
Sourdough / Baking
Last month I made two sourdough loaves – olive and herb, apricot and walnut:
It was really rewarding to improve upon my sourdough baking technique compared to my first loaf a few months ago.
As well as sourdough I baked some conventional sweet treats with my partner:
- Another vegan victoria sponge – with a more basic buttercream and raspberry jam in the middle. It was just as good as the first one, love it!
- More chocolate cupcakes, this time to celebrate a friend’s new baby. We decorated a few of the leftovers, thankfully I’m not trying to get a job as a cake decorator!
There has been loads of produce from the allotment, included heaps of apples so I made a vegan apple cake. Requiring only three apples it wasn’t a great way to use up the apples but it was very tasty!
Piano
I’ve been really bad at practicing on the piano recently, and only spent 40 minutes on it for the whole of July. When we first got it I hoped to spend 30 minutes – 1 hour a day on it. I blame two main factors:
- It’s fallen to the bottom of my list of priorities. I did play for over 30 hours on it which was my initial aim to document and since then it has fallen out of habit.
- There is very rarely a time that someone else isn’t in the lounge, which throws me off, big time.
I do feel bad for not having played more, but overall I’m happy with everything else I’ve been able to achieve.
Video production & editing
I’ve wanted to try producing video content for a while, and learning the process was one of my main aims for this post-PhD period.
In my last report I mentioned that I was struggling to find suitable software which would work on my laptop (Late 2011 Macbook Pro) which is now over eight years old. Much to my surprise it seems to be able to handle Adobe’s Creative Cloud suite just fine, so I made a start learning Premiere Pro and After Effects with a free trial.
When Adobe first moved to a monthly subscription I decided to fork out over £200 to buy Photoshop outright since I was using it so frequently. This was while I had a job after undergrad! Seven years later and I still use it several times a week, including for making figures for papers. Had I instead subscribed and paid monthly (~£10 a month for Photoshop alone) it would have cost me loads more in the long run.
But now I want to access other programs in the suite it looks like I’ll be forking out for the fancy subscription anyway. This doesn’t sit well with the thrifty part of my brain! I decided to not start the subscription last month because of all the work on academic papers. Now that they’re out of the way I want to dive in this month.
There are a few different types of videos I fancy producing:
- Fun individual projects such as learning the piano. Creating this serves no real purpose other than practicing my video editing skills and being fun.
- Content for this website! This could be much more useful. I’ve got ideas for video guides to accompany some of my posts, video interviews with PhD Profiles plus I actually already recorded a few vlog-style snippets around my remote PhD defence. I haven’t exactly decided which direction to go in but just want to make a start.
Please let me know if there is certain video content you’d find useful!
I really don’t like putting myself out there, which is why I’m pretty poor at engaging on social media. The idea of making videos featuring myself sounds scary but at the same time I want to push myself and I think it could help people.
August task: Get one video finished and online. That last bit scares me!
Time off
Media I’ve consumed
Books
In July I finished reading two books:
- The Quest (Dodo Press translation). I liked it!
- Homo Deus. This was one of the rare times I reread a book, mostly because I own so few physical books! I decided to reread it so that I can give it away. It’s an interesting book if you’ve not read it and is the sequel to the very popular Sapiens (also worth a read).
Podcasts
I’ve finished listening to the Wind of Change podcast. It’s not for everyone but I liked it.
A few months ago I mentioned that I’m subscribed to Ben Evan’s weekly tech newsletter. He was interviewed on the Out of Hours podcast which I’ve now started listening to. I like the idea behind the Out of Hours community and want to ensure I’m always able to work on side projects in the future, no matter which job I’m in.
Other interesting things I read
Linked to the discussion about creating video content I’m currently deciding about future content and found this useful from the creator of MinutePhysics.
Films
We paid for a month of Disney Plus to watch Hamilton. It was much better than I expected. As well as watching Wall-E properly for the first time I took the opportunity to rewatch Dumbo for the first time in about 20 years, it is distressing!
Cycling
Back in London I learned to cycle on a free bike from the council and cycled several thousands of miles on it. Details are here: Learning to cycle in London: my first 1000 miles.
Initially I’d had to to leave my bike in London because in the rush to leave we couldn’t fit it in the car with us. Well I’m pleased to say that we are now reunited, so I spent some time in July getting it back up to scratch.
Since then I’ve been on a few little adventures exploring the local area. I also foraged some blackberries with it. It’s been so nice to get cycling again.
Cycling is great, if you have the opportunity I think it is really nice way to get around and would ideally like to always be able to commute by bike. In the UK one of the few recent positives has been a push to get people more active and there have been incentives to repair old bikes. Though as predicted for the first round of funding the website crashed…
Trip planning
Things don’t look any more positive for us to be able go on our trip any time soon. We’re still hoping for Autumn/ Winter next year.
Last month I mentioned I was pining over a lightweight packable Patagonia jacket with the idea I could eventually take it with me, plus I wanted one for here in the UK. It turns out that Patagonia have two shops in the UK and one of them is in the city I live in (Bristol). I then saw that they were starting a sale and that they are an outlet so sell old stock.
Well I did some research, and some more research and talked myself out of buying one (for now). How did that happen?
My preference for buying things is usually something like this:
- Make do with what I have (like I’m doing with my 8-year old laptop)
- Buy second hand from an ethical brand
- Buy second hand from another brand
- Buy new from an ethical brand
- Last resort: Buy new from another brand
I don’t currently own a lightweight down jacket so moved down to option 2. When I looked I simply couldn’t find suitable second hand Patagonia jackets in my size. Therefore I’ve moved on to option 3. My partner’s sister has a similar jacket to what I’m after from Uniqlo and surprisingly unlike Patagonia there are lots available second hand, so this seems like the best option.
Finding the right size for second hand clothes (bought online) can be a problem, especially during a pandemic. My solution has been to order a few sizes new from Uniqlo (what I consider not an ethical brand) to find my right size, return them and then buy second hand. This isn’t ideal, but better than buying the wrong size second hand then having to sell it again myself.
Camping
Very much related to our much-delayed trip, I’d like to be able to get out on some adventures here in the UK as long as it can be done safely. Talking of safety, besides delaying our trip, I’ve not at all discussed how Covid is affecting my behaviour.
Since moving to Bristol in March, and besides going into the local post office a few times to post eBay items, I’ve been in literally no other shops and never gone further than a short cycle distance away from home. It’s not fun but sits much better on my conscience than potentially spreading the virus, especially living in a country where things haven’t exactly been handled well.
Lockdown has eased and recently I got taken on a day trip to Glastonbury for a birthday. Even just for this one day I felt uneasy at being out and doing anything which could help spread the virus. I wasn’t even sure about sharing this photo for fear of promoting people going to potentially crowded beauty spots. Perhaps I’m unusual thinking like this, but what’s normal isn’t always good!
I love being outdoors and camping in the UK could be a nice solution and a way to make lasting memories while we can’t go abroad. But I also don’t want to have to catch the train or drive for ages to get somewhere. So for the moment I’m looking at hikes I could do very much in the local area. After much research I’ve got some lightweight camping gear so my partner and I can do some overnight trips in the near future.
Of the Youtube channels I’m subscribed to, Kraig Adams hiking videos are always a great inspiration and I’d like to eventually get out on similar trips. For now I watch the videos and will plan some much less spectacular local trips!
Monthly finances
Income
I spent practically no time trying to make money in July!
The time I did spend was to submit a proposal on Kolabtree. I know that I can make money if I want to, but between making enough money from matched betting last month and having other priorities, I’m simply not interested at the moment unless it comes with other benefits.
Tax refund +£136 (and + £208 last month)
Unexpectedly I received a tax refund from my last job contract, and I managed to not spot a payment last month too. Nice bonus!
Ebay +~£120
Recently I listed the last of my possessions I don’t currently want and sold a few of them. Now I just have four things on ebay: for practically years I always had over 100! I have a whole post about decluttering and making money on ebay: How I make money selling belongings on ebay.
Prolific + £6.20
True to my word I’m not bothering to take part in many studies so in July I spent under 30 minutes on Prolific and made a whole £6.20. I like Prolific and think it’s a convenient way to make a bit of cash but keep your expectations low. My full review from a few months ago: Prolific Review – Make money and help researchers in the process!
Kolabtree £0
A month ago I said that I didn’t make the target I set myself:
“June action: browse the projects on Kolabtree, apply for any which are relevant to my skills“
But this past month I did send a proposal for a position and spoke with the founder of a cool project to help communicate climate change science. Though not really an interview, I did put on a shirt for the first time since my PhD defence! I’m currently waiting for their decision.
Matched betting £0
Like with Prolific, I didn’t really bother with matched betting in July after doing pretty well in June. I spent a few minutes doing simple offers, then risked my winnings on an offer which wasn’t risk free, losing them all and starting where I began. These offers aren’t recommended for beginners but the returns can be much higher.
Overall I’ve made close to £10,000 matched betting and still think that it is a good source of income, especially if you don’t yet have accounts with bookmakers. In June I paid for an annual ProfitAccumulator membership and you start by trying out the platform for free here. Note – This is an affiliate link, please read more about my policy relating to affiliate links and referrals here.
There are sometimes very profitable offers (£35+ profit for 10 minutes work) which I’ll keep an eye out for, but otherwise I don’t plan to invest much time in it in August.
Savings
Investments
Most of my stocks and shares investments are surprisingly still rising in value, which I don’t really see as a positive, given some of the shortsighted interventions applied. It’ll certainly be interesting to see how things develop, there are second peaks of the virus, soon a bunch more people unemployed in the UK and things look to be going badly in the US too.
I’ve currently got almost all of my money out of peer to peer platforms such as Zopa, Ratesetter and Funding Circle after requesting withdrawals. I want to be able to help create prosperity but equally these platforms are entirely unproven. Currently the risk is certainly not worth the low reward. I’ve got money sitting and waiting when things appear stable.
Money apps
I’m starting to draft a post about ethical investing, both investing directly and using money apps such as tickr and Moneybox. I’m still using both apps and they seem decent if you want an easy hands-off approach, but I think the fees are probably higher than doing it yourself. Full post to follow with all the costs calculated.
Moneybox is another potential easy option which I ethically invest through and am measuring up compared to the other platforms. They are currently offering a £25 cash bonus to new customers (and referrers) if you invest £500 for three months: effectively 5% interest. If you fancy joining through my referral link click here. As ever please read more about my policy relating to affiliate links and referrals here.
Bank accounts
I’m always on the look out for easy money switching bank accounts. A few offers to switch bank accounts are starting to come back, including £100 for switching to Halifax:
As I switched recently, and currently have no salary, it will be a while before I’ll be able to take advantage of these offers again. I’d recommend reading the latest MoneySavingExpert email here for lots of handy money advice.
July summary
In July I fell behind on a few minor things but overall I’m really happy with my progress. I got back up to speed on the Machine Learning course and submitted two papers – one of which I didn’t expect to have ready for several months. I also unexpectedly applied for a job.
But progress isn’t everything. I worked more hours than I would have liked at the expense of enjoying my time off. I don’t want to have to feel constantly busy, especially on ongoing projects, so plan to schedule in:
- Time off to completely relax
- Time to learn new fun things
I also figure that building in this time increases the chances for me to think up new interesting projects, ideas and potential businesses.
August plan
It’s great being productive but there is a chance I’ll be returning to work soon. I’m therefore keen to ensure I take some time off to relax! I’m setting myself fewer goals for August. They are chiefly:
- Complete weeks 7-10 of the Machine learning course
- Create a video and publish it online
It’ll be nice to have a slightly more chilled out month. It is the summer after all!
