It's official- I have a job!

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!

My luckiest day

The short version: I walked into a seminar, ran into someone I met at a conference 2 years ago, talked to her for an hour about what I've been doing, and walked out with a job. Part time, temporary work, but I will have a MENTOR and TITLE and a PAYCHECK! I am overjoyed!

The long version:

Two years ago, I attended a small conference, mostly because of its location and the opportunity to see friends and family. I went on a field trip and spent a few hours in a van with a woman who was working on a similar type of database project and has been supporting herself on soft money (i.e. grants) since she finished her PhD. She said it have her the flexibility to work part-time when her kids were young and I appreciated hearing about her research and experience. Even better, she was at an institution near Jon's hometown, so I made a special note to contact her in the future.

I emailed her in November, saying we were probably moving to Hometown and might she be able to meet with me to talk about my project and funding ideas. I never heard back, and hadn't yet tried to follow up with her further over email. I went to a few seminars at her institution, but didn't see her. Until this week.

She walked in right behind me, and recognized me but couldn't place me at first. I told her I'd recently finished, moved to Hometown to be near family, was looking for work, have a 9 month old child, and told her more about my database project and the applications I have pending. After seminar, she said, "I've been feeling like I need some help on some of my projects and it sounds like you might have just the right skill set. Let's talk more about your experience and availability."

I showed her what I've done. I told her many of my pending applications have start dates still months away even if I do get an offer.

She said not many PhDs have the particular background of mine that she needs.
She said she loves to help other moms in science because she knows how hard it is.
She said she also moved into her parents' basement without a job when she finished her PhD.
She said she can't hire full-time or long-term, but what about half-time for 3 months?
She said welcome to the lab.

I could hardly contain my tears of happiness and immense sense of relief after the meeting. I'll have a paycheck, desk space, affiliation, and another line on my CV. I'll be working with someone who does things I'm interested in, but she has more experience and can mentor me. I will still have time to work on my own projects & applications, and flexibility in terms of when I work. What a day!