So, after almost 7 years as a postdoc here, it’s almost time for me to move on. I’ve accepted a 3 year postdoc interstate starting in 3 weeks. I don’t know how I feel about it.
My contract was coming to an end, and wasn’t going to be renewed due to lack of funding. Industry money has all but dried up, and government funding had already been leveraged to its full capacity. There wasn’t really any scope for me remaining here, so I started job hunting a few months ago. Last week I was lucky to get an offer from another university.
On the one hand, the position at the new university is a great opportunity. The department there has changed since I last had anything to do with it, so I’ll be working with a very different group of people. And the project I’ll be working on is a government funded project which seems really interesting. Plus, after 7 years working on industry projects with non-disclosure agreements, it will be nice to work on something that doesn’t have publication restrictions!
On the other hand…The city itself. Admittedly not my favourite place. I’ve lived there before, and I left for a variety of reasons – partly because of a great job offer I had, but also due to a couple of more serious issues. I don’t know if those issues remain, but I’m cautious about the move. Also, I love working where I have been. The people here have been amazing. The research has been amazing. The opportunities have been amazing. I’m going to miss it!
We’ll see how it all pans out I suppose. My posting will probably be fairly erratic for the next month while I deal with the logistics of moving across the country (again), but I’ll try to update once a week.
It's a Postdoc Life for Me! 