Hi Sandy90,

First of all thank you for taking the time to answer my questions. I really appreciate it. I'll be taking your advice and calling up the colleges first thing tomorrow morning. May I ask another question? Would you know what is the average age for a young lecturer? These days, you have 25 year olds with a PhD so I'm thinking there'll be tough competition.

Also thank you for the suggestion that I look into foreign universities in Malaysia. If it is okay, may I know which ones you might be referring to? I admit I have only taken a look at the Monash University website and unfortunately there aren't any PhD scholarships on offer that is in my field. But I'll keep checking because you never know. I also know of Nottingham University's Malaysian campus...but other than that I admit I don't know much about foreign universities which have set up base in Malaysia (I will need to do my homework on that).

Finally, I'd appreciate any insight or experiences you'd like to share being in the education field (if you're free and have the time).

My plan right now is either to a) accept the scholarship and then return immediately to Malaysia(should I be successful in getting the PhD) or b) forget about the scholarship and just start working. I'm having a headache right now deciding (although I'm aware that having choices is a privilege), so any input from anyone that will help me make a somewhat informed decision will be welcomed.

Once again, thank you!

Depends on your field and institution really.

For example in my field (a biomedical science subfield), with the increasing number of people getting a Cell/Science/Nature paper (or papers in highly rated journals) out of their PhD, it is extremely difficult to survive/find a prominent employer after PhD if you don't have at least a decent publication.

Considering the time and effort required to publish in a highly rated journal, it really makes PhD candidates and post-docs work like hell, at least those working in prestigious institutions that are often also a competitive environment in itself.

2) I don't actually mind being a lecturer but since coming back, I've applied to some colleges (Taylor's, SEGI, Manipal International University) for the position of foundation studies lecturer but haven't really gotten any replies. It's been a month now and honestly, it's slightly discouraging....is this normal in the education industry? Can anyone give me some feedback on this?