Finding transitory work between PhD and first paycheck from real job

[Soon2bgrad]

I am very worried about how I am going to transition financially between PhD and my first paycheck from a "real" job.  I have been doing a phd full time so obviously I have basically no savings and as soon as I defend I will have no more money coming in.  I am looking for ideas on ways I can get some money coming in for possibly a month to maybe three months of being post-PhD unemployed.  This is scary.

If anyone has any stories about how they made the financial transition from PhD to real paying work (whether they were waiting for a post doc to start or looking for a job outside academia), I would greatly appreciate it!

[rising_star]

My solution was not to graduate until I had solid job prospects lined up...

[juilletmercredi]

Yes, I timed the beginning of my postdoc so it followed right after I defended. That way there was no break in my paycheck. Same thing with the transition from my postdoc to my first full-time position - there was only about a week between those two positions, and that was only because I was moving cross-country and needed to settle in a bit.

If you already know there's going to be about a month's gap, start saving a little every month so you have enough to at least cover basic needs during that month. If it's going to be longer, you might look into temping in the mean time, or doing an arranged summer internship for a professor or office on campus.