annie24 Posted June 22, 2011 Author Share Posted June 22, 2011 I'm going to talk to prof #2 on the phone today. I need to study up!! I just got my flight arrangements for prof #4. wow. Link to comment
MissIndigo Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 Woo hoo! All of this is great news. Depending on what your interests are being with prof #3 on a training grant might not be a bad gig. Your salary is at least guaranteed and if you don't want to stay in postdoc long (~2 years) it could be a good way to go. (Be sure to inquire about the track records of past trainees and where they ended up after the lab--you'll need that alumni base when you're looking for a job!! I learned that the hard way!) At the end of the day here's hoping you'll have several options to choose from! Link to comment
annie24 Posted July 12, 2011 Author Share Posted July 12, 2011 Well, I got back from my interview with prof #4. I got the job. I also met with prof #3 because she lives in that area as well. So, now I have two offers to really consider. (I guess I should tell that prof #2 that I'm not as interested...?) ugh. This is so confusing, so many decisions! I'm going this weekend for a short trip to where I think prof #3 will wind up - I've never been to that city and I want to check it out. I found a good deal on priceline so I booked the tickets. So now, many decisions. MissIndigo - prof #4 has a good track record of placing people in government positions, so that sounds really good. he seems like a straight shooter but a bit of a hard ass, which is good i suppose. I really like prof #3 and find her research exciting. gosh.... so many decisions to make now!!!! Link to comment
avman Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 YAY! You got the job So happy for you. Now just time to make the big decision. Link to comment
penelope13 Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 Congratulations! This is a good thing, to have the opportunity to chose and pick. If you think you are going to get overwhelmed how to decide - make a table with pros and cons, including science aspects, living conditions, social aspects etc. Link to comment
MissIndigo Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 Congrats on the offer! I know that makes you feel great to know you have this option for sure on the table! Did you mean the city where your acquaintance is? Hope it's a fun trip! If you feel strongly about this offer you have in hand now, just follow up with everyone else and say you're in a position where you need to make a decision and ask where they might be in the process...how much time do you have to accept what you have? Link to comment
annie24 Posted July 13, 2011 Author Share Posted July 13, 2011 Well, I met my acquaintance (prof #3) on my trip to see prof #4. (He works in the same city where she currently does.) I'm going this weekend to one of the cities where prof #3 has an offer just to check it out. Prof #4 gave me a month to get back to him. Prof #3 hasn't accepted an offer yet. She has a meeting in 2 weeks to discuss stuff at a university. I'm guessing she'll make a decision in the next month as well? I need to ask her. I think I need to tell prof #2 ?? (I forget who is who now!) to let him know I am leaning towards someone else. aaaghh! "Everyone else?" you mean everyone else I have applied for? gosh, I lost track now, lol. I've applied for several government positions (25). I also applied for a pharmaceutical company and some random other professors. That's a good point, maybe I should follow up with the pharma company (it's a postdoc position - I applied for 6 there). see what they say. confusing!! my coworker told me in India, there was a famous story about how a man got his acceptance letter from the postal service - 60 years too late!! lol. Link to comment
MissIndigo Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 Just follow up with the people you've spoken with seriously about jobs, mainly those profs is what I meant. I'd especially be up front with your acquaintance that you have another offer now but that you may still be interested in working with her--I know it may sound forward but you don't want to hold out for too long with anything, especially with how competitive it is to get even a postdoc now. You don't need to follow up with absolutely everyone (unless there's a job in there you're really keen on), but with anyone you've spoken to personally or interviewed with, it's necessary. It's the best thing to do once you have an offer, any offer, in hand. I've applied to about that many gov't jobs as well and only been referred twice...ugh. I went to this career fair last month that had a lot of fed jobs and they said honestly, the way you get any attention at all is for you to get a resume somehow into the hands of the hiring manager so that they make sure to look for you. Otherwise, it's too easy to get lost in the sea of applications. That will sometimes even override the KSA answers and such. Link to comment
lavenderdove Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 Just remember that nothing in life is permanent and you have LOTS of potential there, so you need to make a decision based on who is offering a firm offer, who you think you'd get along with best, and whether the work invovled will take you in a direction you want your career to go. You might have to be a bit careful with the prof who hasn't accepted a job yet, because you have no idea whether she can indeed offer you a job and get the funding to hire you immediately upon joining herself. She may want to hire you, but not right away, and how long can you go without a job? I would take whatever job is available for sure within the next month or so, and don't wait forever for the professor who hasn't got the ability to offer you anything firm. You may wait 6 months for her to tell you she'd love to hire you, but can't get approval to do so. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. Link to comment
Philos Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 Tough to hear that you're still looking =( edit* I am too =( Link to comment
annie24 Posted July 18, 2011 Author Share Posted July 18, 2011 well, I do have 2 (well, 3) offers.... now to figure out which to take. I went this weekend to the city where prof #3 would be. There are things I like and don't like about it. I'm not sure. The upshot is that it is a big city, and it is close to other major cities, so I could probably find things to do/people to meet, etc... it's not my favorite city i've ever been in. but do I keep looking for a job in the *perfect* city - or do I take one of these jobs, work for a few years, and then move on to somewhere else? probably take the job. on another note - my mom is insane. she kept calling me over the weekend to see how my trip was going, i ignored the calls. i answered my phone this morning. I swear she has some issues. she keeps asking me the same things. she asks me on a near weekly basis if I am still working in my current city. a million times over, yes!!! jeez, I told her if she keeps asking me the same questions over and over again, i'm going to stop answering the phone. she then starts yelling at me about how my brother and i never ask her how she is doing and what she needs, and that when i'm on my butt and have no where to live, i'll want to be back in her life then. (my brother lost his job and moved in with her - but i think that's the least of his issues - i think he has some real mental problems that need to be addressed), can't believe my mom doesn't see that. Link to comment
annie24 Posted August 4, 2011 Author Share Posted August 4, 2011 Well - good news - I have accepted an offer. I am going with Prof #2. She chose the university in a different city than the one I visited a few weeks ago, lol. She does have money for me for a few years, that is certain. I will probably start in early spring, that is fine with me. I am looking forward to time off!! I've written to the other profs to let them know. i did not enjoy writing those e-mails. It doesn't feel real yet though. I've never been to that city, so that is next on my to-do list. my mother is still driving me crazy too. Link to comment
rocio Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 Wonderful news! Are you excited? Do you think you'll love this opportunity? Link to comment
avman Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 Congrats Annie! It's all going to be great Link to comment
annie24 Posted August 5, 2011 Author Share Posted August 5, 2011 Wonderful news! Are you excited? Do you think you'll love this opportunity? I'm excited, but it doesn't feel real. After soooo long of sending out applications, it's nice to not have to do that, lol!! I've never been to this university (it's an Ivy) or even the city, so that is next on the list. (Ironically, I stayed a hotel this weekend for a conference and the hotel's name was The Ivy, so maybe that's a sign, lol??) It's a large, historical city though, so I'm sure that there will be a lot to do. I think it will be a big transition, the research I will be doing is pretty different from what i do now, but the upshot is that I have a good 5 months or so before I start to get caught up on research in the field, etc... It will be nice to work with my friend/acquaintance, but I also need to keep things respectful, she is my superior, etc... she is on my facebook page as well, so I can't ever complain about 'the mean boss making us do this or that' lol. probably won't post on FB during working hours anymore either. So, I'll be an east coast mod soon. I look forward to being a train ride away from a lot of exciting cities, visiting friends on weekends, etc... it just doesn't feel real yet. Link to comment
annie24 Posted August 5, 2011 Author Share Posted August 5, 2011 thanks!!! nice to see you here!! Link to comment
Siriana Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 This new city sounds great! And Ivy league! I think its just perfect. I bet it will look great on your resume one day Link to comment
annie24 Posted August 5, 2011 Author Share Posted August 5, 2011 it will. i am disappointed i did not get a job in europe, however, many of the countries i was interested in (read: not germany or denmark) are having such financial difficulties that finding a job there doesn't seem like the best time. understandable. maybe in a few years, the situation will improve. it just doesn't feel real yet, lol!! i don't have any forms to sign, no official hiring papers yet, but those will come in time. Link to comment
rocio Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 I would have thought it would be just as difficult to find a job in the U.S. as in Europe. Is Europe really doing even worse? Link to comment
annie24 Posted August 5, 2011 Author Share Posted August 5, 2011 part of europe, yes. in academia, the issues can be a bit harder as for finding funding. for example, in the US, there are certain fellowships you can apply for only if you are a US citizen. so, international students cannot compete for those. it could be the same if i went to europe. it also depends on how much money the professor has, if he/she has enough funds to support anyone, or if the student/postdoc would have to apply for funds to the government. in hindsight, i applied to far more us jobs than international jobs. Link to comment
rocio Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 Well I can sympathise. I had also been applying to jobs in Europe recently. Then I got promoted at my current job and got knocked up, so Europe fell out of the equation. It would sure be nice to be in Europe. A friend of mine spent several months in Spain and she experienced culture shock when arriving back in Canada. She's still finding it really hard to adjust back to the Canadian lifestyle. But then, if you have a good job anywhere, you can hardly complain, right? Link to comment
annie24 Posted August 5, 2011 Author Share Posted August 5, 2011 congrats rocio!!! great news!! haha, yes, europe would be nice, but sometimes life doesn't work out the way we want it to. it's ok - i'll try again. this job is only for a few years. i'm still hoping to do some international travel before i go. a friend is going to a wedding in brazil this fall and would like it if i joined her. this could be a fun vacation, and i might go to argentina as well. Link to comment
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