My path after grad school

Muddled grad asked about my grad school experiences, which I think is a cornucopia of blog topics. I think for tonight I'll comment a little on my path at the end of grad school, and how I ended up being a postdoc. In my 2nd to last year of grad school, it became obvious to me that I had no idea what I wanted to do. Academia can be a very disillusioning experience (at least it was for me and 90% of the grad students I knew at MRU 2), but there was part of me that was still very interested. So I half-heartedly started pursuing both industry and academic jobs, getting to the point where I started securing interviews for industry positions, and where I had contacts at a variety of teaching-oriented colleges in academia. (I enjoyed teaching during graduate school and figured I could focus on that positive aspect of an experience I was otherwise eager to wind up. Most everyone is ready for that light at the end of the dissertation tunnel!)

And then I got offered a very very well paid job. A real job. Not in academia, but so tempting nonetheless, especially based on its geographic location.

So I took it.

It didn't take me long to realize that I wanted back in academia. This was no clear cut decision, but rather one I arrived at after much anxiety and hardship. So I quit my job and found a postdoc (a topic for later discussion).

Now here I am at MRU 3. With my tiny postdoc salary. I would have been shocked if you told me I would be here back when I was in grad school. I left academia partially because I was so tired of bench science. I still am, but I realize it's a very short-term tradeoff for a career that has nothing to do with being at the bench, but more about dreaming up exciting new scientific ideas, getting others enthused about them (both students and funders), and then communicating that to the world. Academia, at its core, is truly beautiful. (Nevermind that some people pervert the system for their own selfish gains, or forget that our institutions are about people and knowledge, not mundane papers that lack creativity.) And I'm fairly confident in my desire to have a research academic position rather than a teaching one (see my earlier post "To teach or not to teach").

I think my decision to leave academia and then come back may have been one of the best decisions I made. I feel more invigorated about my research plans than I did coming straight out of grad school. In fact, a friend of mine who has stayed the "true path" from undergrad through obtaining his assistant professorship is just about burnt out. As I've heard a few faculty say, "make sure you don't peak early." So I hope I have enough reserve fuels to peak in the next few years instead. :) This does not mean I have rid myself of self-doubt or that every day is sunshine and rainbows (and I think it would be helpful if I posted about some of those not-so-sunny days too).

Bottom line: Life is a journey with unexpected turns, and I've found that patience, dogged persistence, and humor (not taking ourselves too seriously) go a long way.