Snapshot

I've been working as a postdoc at Institution X for over two years now. Although I do like my job, these past two years have made me realize that I might not want to pursue a career in science after all. There's just too much I don't like about academia. The politics. The culture of publish-or-perish. The toll it takes on your personal life. And at this stage of my career, still the continuing frustration over experiments that just won't work.

It's not that I didn't have doubts before. It's just that during my PhD, I knew I was working for a degree I really wanted, and that kept me going. I have no regrets over doing a PhD. I am proud of my title, and it has given me the chance to do what I'm doing now: work in a good lab and live in a different country for a couple of years.

I work less hard now than I did during my PhD. And I like that. It has given me a chance to rediscover my other interests: literature, history, creative writing. Which again fuels my doubts about a future in science. Do I want to spend all my time and energy on my career? Would I be able to have a life beside my job?

That's where I stand now. I'm as curious as you are to see what happens next.