Days 400 + 401: Research Days

Travel-wise, these two days were exceptionally unproductive. I felt quite productive in the areas of research and job applications, however.

By now, I've identified which jobs and job titles I want to apply for. Believe it or not, I've never before been certain of the exact job I wanted to have. I've also never before felt confident that the job would be right for me, and I've never before felt qualified for a job when I read job announcements. All of this has changed now: I know which job I want, I know it's the right thing for me, and I know I can do it.

So my task now is to convince potential employers of this. The applications I've sent for postdoctoral positions so far are quite strong, I think. However, I also want to apply for lecturer or assistant professor positions - and these require a research statement, i.e. a statement of my past, present and future research. I've never before written such a statement, and that means it's a lot of work initially. But, strange as this may seem, I'm excited and really happy to do that kind of work now (even if that earns me strange sideways glances from my fellow travelers).

This realization has made me change my travel rhythm. I'm still figuring out what exactly to aim for, but I'm thinking a ratio of two days of travel and one day of research/application work could work quite well. Although, I have to say, it feels a little disorienting to combine travel and work in this way. I often get into a state of flow working on an application, or researching a certain point, and when I resurface from my concentration, I find that I'm not sitting at a nice desk but at a table I've never really seen before; my back aches from sitting on a bad chair, slumped over my tiny netbook screen; there is music playing and people are partying around me; and it's suddenly dark when it was broad daylight just seconds ago. And I have to think for a moment about where exactly I am and where I might find food and drink in this strange place... ;-)