Every bit of the long read was worth it.
I started sending lots of applications to different labs but no one would take me (often they wouldn’t reply at all).
That's about where I am on my scientific journey. Big kudos to you for making it this far and cheers to greater heights!
It's nice to meet you and thanks for inspiring.
@tolulupe.tolu Thank you for writing such an encouraging comment!
Regarding the applications, I found that it gets easier or harder depending on how specific you are. For example, I wanted to have a PhD position that was 1) In the field of cancer research or molecular genetics 2) In Berlin 3) In a high impact research group, so it was really difficult to find the position that I wanted (it took me about eight months!). However if you are more general about what you would like the odds of finding something are higher.
Also, like in many other fields, I found that contacts matter A LOT. If someone has met you before (doesn't need to be something fancy, maybe you just talked to them for a bit at a conference or after a talk or something), that already makes your chances much better against other candidates. I've also witnessed that people tend to pick people within their circle, for example, if the person you are sending your application to knows your advisor, it is very likely they will pick you, at least for an interview.
Keep trying! It requires some resilience to frustration, but keep looking and eventually something will come up. Cheers!
Many thanks for your kind suggestions @irime
I guess I'm not as particular as you are at least not about country or region, however I will definitely prefer cancer research in a forward-looking group.
I will keep your suggestions in mind as I continue my search. I won't give up. Thank you so much.