Exactly one year after my daughter was born, I was offered a job. This is after a year and a half of actively searching for and applying to jobs while
finishing a dissertation,
having a baby, and
moving. As regular readers know, I was pretty damn discouraged for about 4 months this winter. I applied for several different competitive fellowships, advertised postdocs, and some positions for which I was probably overqualified. I've been feeling like a bit of a science loser for not even being able to land a
postdoc in my field. I mean, I know tenure-track jobs are scarce, but it seems like almost everyone who wants one finds a damn postdoc! (That said, I did land in an
unplanned postdoc, but it feels different because it was so hasty and I didn't apply for it). I figured I'd eventually find something for 1-2 years and then be on the search again. My unimplemented academic escape plan (
"post-ac" career) was to network the heck out of some programming meet ups and see if I could land a much better paying job with benefits that way.
I applied to this job 2 months ago, and wasn't so sure about it. After learning more about it at an informal meeting, I was much more excited. After my half-day interview, I felt like I nailed it. I walked out of there feeling that the odds were good they would offer me the job. However, I didn't let my job fantasies run wild. We've been trying to keep enthusiasm in check and not jinx anything during a week and a half of positive indications.
This job search has a happier ending than I dared hope for. This is a real, permanent job with benefits. Excellent benefits. Every benefit I've ever heard of except onsite childcare. It's a 35 minute transit commute from our new home-- just 4 miles away. Their location isn't moving. Neither are we. And the salary? It is much more than a typical postdoc salary in biology-- honestly closer to an assistant professor salary. It's more than I would have dared to ask for. I didn't counter offer. I'm excited about working with my boss. This is a place I can stay for a many years and hopefully make a career. It positions me well in the non-profit world. It combines my interests and experience in a way I hadn't imagined possible. I get to do lots of networking, which I love. I'll start in June!
Thank you all for your encouragement and advice along the way. I am excited to start this next phase of my career!
