New Job!

One of my big worries about my recovery process from surgery is that I was losing my job at the same time. I worried that I'd languish is a sort of post-recovery doldrum for too long, and my job hunt would be derailed. I was doing a lot of work up until about mid-December, and then... holidays, pre-op,... I just didn't have a lot of time. Mercifully, my old job asked me to let them know if/when I might be able to help out with some contract work, and that spurred me along after the recovery. This was good, because it basically masked the effects on my resume of taking a month off for surgery, and gave me some practice at working, which helped me gauge my recovery better than watching TV and playing solitaire.

I had applied for a job at Tableau in December, and was called in before the holiday. I was really excited about the role- my old manager recommended me for the job, because he works on the team. With another former editor of mine. And they are both very happy with the work, the vibe, the boss, etc... And Tableau just does very cool stuff (data visualization- or making pretty graphs). I was tickled when the hiring manager told me during my interview that while he wasn't sure how the team would decide to hire for this role, he thoughts I was a good fit, and that the team was growing. So if not this opening, than soon. He'd be in touch. I thought I must be as shoe in, but I was only slightly disappointed when I learned, on the way home from the hospital, that I didn't get the job.

Imagine my happy surprise when I received a call from that very recruiter at the end of January asking if I would be willing to talk about a different role on the same team. Oh sure! I was concerned because of the three roles on the team (Instructional Designer, Technical Writer, and eLearning Specialist), the third I felt least qualified for, and of course, that is what they wanted to talk about. Would I ruin my chances of getting a job on this team if I blew this interview? I let my old coworker/officemate convince me I have a lot of eLearning experience, and I went in with an open mind.

In this interview, I reinterviewed with two people I had already met, and clearly, the tables had turned. They asked as couple probing questions, but were much more concerned with my interest, and selling me on the fit. The hiring manager made it sound like this was a sure thing, and the he very much hoped I didn't take something else in the meantime. After the interview, I went to lunch with my old manager, who is a tech writer on this team. He reiterated that they were really hoping to find a place for me, and I asked him why they would bring me into the role I am least qualified for. He gave me confidence that the team would be patient while I learned what there is to know, and that everyone really was a kind, and enthusiastic as they appeared in the interview.

Great, now I WANT this job, I'm excited about this job, and I still don't have a lot of confidence that I can get this job. I was on pins and needles all weekend, wondering when I might hear... something? Anything?

Monday afternoon, I got an email to set up a call with the recruiter. Matt confirmed that she would only want to talk to me if there were good news to discuss- not bad news to deliver. Indeed there was an offer. I took some time to think about it because there were terms I couldn't quickly parse over the phone, and factors that the recruiter couldn't weigh in on. I contacted my future boss to ask him about flex-scheduling- oh sure, he really wants to make that work. I signed the offer, and agreed to start on March 2.

That leaves me plenty of time to continue healing and get in shape, finish my current contract, visit Gramma W and Noel's family, and maybe even get my own house in order a bit. I guess my worry about falling off into a jobless abyss was unfounded- or if not unfounded, at least surmountable. I'll share more about what I actually do, once I figure that out.

In other news, I've been jogging a bit, hiking some, and am officially cleared to slowly bring back any other form of activity I like. Recovery is going well. We've started some major effort to rearrange furniture at our house, which may take some time to settle. Matt's stepmom sent me her old hockey skates, so we are looking forward to giving that a (slow, stuttering, awkward) attempt this weekend.

Monthly goals

I made my two fitness goals this month: Cycle 100 km, and run 50 km. (Total, over the month).
Strava tells me I've biked 176 km, and run 51 so far. Hooray! Will see if I can keep up next month. I was pleased that the hardest part was making the time, not the fitness required. But it's going to be harder to make the time now that the weather is getting dodgier, bike commuting seems more questionable, and late night runs require more planning. But, it's nice to maintain a (comparatively) high level of fitness, so that when it is nice out, I can easily go for long hikes without killing myself.

One of my other goals for the month was job hunt related. It's definitely time in the process where I need to be putting out regular application, but I'm still... unsure what I'm looking for.

I made myself go to a networking meeting for people who are arguable in my instructional design field. And I hated it! We had nothing in common, I found them difficult to communicate with, and it was a nightmare to try and imagine myself as some self serving middle manager, fretting first and foremost over "personal branding" and leadership coaching. (Especially as it became clear that no one was in perfect agreement about what those things meant.) I might be too objective for this career path.

But, rather than write another "Woe is the perennial job hunter," I'm doing something about it. One of my coworkers used to work as a career coach, and currently supervises a team of people who help students find jobs. She agreed to work with me (for super cheap!) because she wants to do more career development stuff, and I need help! She is a very positive person, and because we work together, she has a better sense of my capabilities than if I tried to explain this to someone in a one hour session. Step one is describing some positive previous work experiences, and describing my dreams for my next job. It's amazing to me how little detail I have in the dream, but we are just starting the process. I've also been sending really nosy emails to people on campus, so hopefully I can rustle up some interesting opportunities for myself. Today I realized I have 14 weeks left in my contract, and will have 7 weeks of vacation/holiday/sick leave to expend, so now is a good time to get serious about What Next.

I know other family members are thinking about career moves, so I'll let you know how this coaching works out.

I need a new attitude

It's getting to be that time in the job cycle when I need to look for a new job. The current contract ends in December with no chance of renewal and it is time to move on. I like my current job and my current team, but I'm ready to try something more challenging (honestly, my work seems to have vast periods of awkward boredness to contend with).

But.... every time I sit down to do something job hunting related- update my resume, seek openings, put in applications- I find myself feeling really acutely like I want to cry. And crawl into bed forever. And cry some more. I'm not sure what it is exactly- I actually think it might be a poor habit from the YEAR I spent looking after graduation. But every time, I spend 20 minutes on LinkedIn, open a bunch of links that seem somewhat promising and then basically talk myself out of every single one of them. Ugh, that commute would be terrible. I couldn't stand to work on a sales team. That product is too mind numbingly boring to work with. There feels like there is no good opportunity for me and I feel hopeless. And then I either lose my momentum to any number of internet distractions, or I push through until I can't go any further without a hug.

Which is weird, because I'm actually fairly optimistic about my next job hunt. I've got some good experience and some interesting work to show, so I think I am well poised to find myself something more tailored to my interests. When I talk about what I am looking for, or go meet people for the purpose of talking about a job, I feel good. I have a story to tell. I know where I am headed.

And then I get home to my computer and it is all exsistential doubt.

So I'm thinking I need some new, more uplifting job hunting strategies. Any thoughts?

Weird and great day!

Weird part first:  I had an "informational interview" today at a small biopharma place.  That's in quotes because I intended to find out more about this company, but ended up answering a tirade of really weird questions that started with "Tell me your life story." Moved to, "Are you smart?  How do you know, is it because things were always easy for you, or because you have done hard things?" well past, "Are you good in the lab?  Do you love it?  Did you love grad school?" and ended abruptly at, "Well, I wouldn't give you a job.  You don't have any experience.  But you've got something.  I like that."  Nifty.  A story perhaps best left for the other blog- but it is always nice to confirm that I have more personality than "the walking dead," as this CSO put it. However, I still have lots of questions about that company.

Great part: Nana's house sold!  And closed!  And it's done.  Nice!  We celebrated by going to Tandem- which would be my new favorite restaurant even if it weren't run by my cousins.  Seriously, that food is crazy good, and Nana's niece is the hostess.  It's technically a wine and cheese bar, but you'd be a fool not to eat the halibut or the crab cakes or cheesecake.  They get as much local and organic as possible, grow at lot at their own Bothell home(!), and send your to-go box home on a plate from the kitchen.  So you have to come back.  Like you'd protest. 

And by way of announcement, we are going to Concrete to visit Betty for the weekend.  We are taking Nana.  We are told that there are even MORE hummingbirds, if that is possible.  We are also going to try to drive across the pass to Winthrop, which was the home-base of the Froggy 5*, Nana's life long college and camping friends.  None of them live there now, but it's cool to visit old stomping grounds.  The trip is to celebrate Matt getting a day off from truck driving, and the approximate anniversary of our being together for TEN YEARS.  Or a VERY LONG TIME.  I think we must be old because our best idea for how to celebrate was to spend time with our family.  Heh.

*Nana story.  Heard it?

Just keeping busy

My mantra these days is that my life is just going to be weird for a while.  It's takes the pressure off to find some quick version of "normal," and I get to enjoy all these new colorful versions of weird.  I do still really want a job someday (soon would be fine), you know, with coworkers and a pay check and a sense of personal industry and dignity.  Those are features I am looking for.

But, in the meantime, there is plenty of fun to be had with this flexibility.  Yeah, I have plenty of time to travel (if the pass stays clear, I'll be in Spokane this weekend), and receive visitors (any and all visitors).  And my financial situation (which is really Matt's financial situation), allows me to jump into opportunities that I wouldn't have forseen for myself.  Textbook editing?  Why not.  The whole science center thing was very fun and fulfilling while I was in Pittsburgh, and they keep asking for extra help on other things- namely, next week we are flying to New York City to attend a conference and present a workshop at the NY Hall of Science.  Sure, I can just take a week for that, no big.

And Bart sent me info about a STEM (Science Tech, Engineering and Math) Education meeting in Bellevue. I asked to volunteer, hoping to secure admission.  Instead I've been invited to serve as a panelist.  Heh, yeah. 

Right now I am feeling good about this, I have people to meet and follow up with, and I just got a fairly large editing assignment from China (again! yay!).  I am waiting to hear from my algae guy about moving forward on building an algae lab in the garage here to test some of his ideas for lighting ponds and my ideas for problems we might have.  I'm thinking of doing a couple day in the life of a job hunter posts on the other blog, frankly the life I am living now seems weird to me too.  The downside of all this glamor and unpredictability is I still don't really feel like I live here.  I'm looking forward to have some real roots here and a routine, but for now I am just enjoying the ride.  After I crack this job thing, I'll have predictability to the point of monotony, no rush yet.

--Update---
And I got invited to the Board Meetings for my local chapter of AWIS (because the people who write the newsletter are in the Board, of course).  And the algae guy may be able to co-opt his grandmother's house as a trial site.  Does this stuff happen to other people??  Back to reading out spy school for the New York Trip...

Almost done

Tomorrow is my last day on the job. I thought I would feel very sad and overly nostalgic. I finished my last experiment today, gave away a few more freezer boxes of reagents, and convinced my coworkers to take a frozen yogurt break. I mean, I will miss THEM, and having an excuse to see them everyday. But really, it is time to move on. It's scary not to know where I am going next, but I'm actually feeling excited about it. I mean, I have lots to do.

If you are still following the "other blog" you may have seen that a recruiter called me today simply to walk me through how to make better connections on LinkedIn. It seems pretty obvious when he explained it, but I thought that looking for strangers to connect to might be a violation of.... something, I don't know. If I can find them, it's because they are willing to be connected with. So the next stage of the job hunt will be more targeted.

I also spoke with a Career Coach today. I have mixed feelings about this service- I don't think it would be that helpful to solve my imminent problem, but I suspect it might be invaluable for helping me reach my long term goals. But what it comes down to is paying someone to provide mentoring and counseling for career problems. I mean, shouldn't I be able to find mentors in real life? Like, for free? Because this career coach is the opposite of free- like $200/hr (or packages for 10 sessions! Only $750!). Not like I've shopped around much, but my impression is that these services- esp for someone with any concept of the science universe, will not be cheap.

Oh- and we went camping over the weekend and it was awesome. Beautiful (non-hurricaned) weather all weekend, great food, nice long hike and TONS of butterflies. Nice to get away, I suspect it is doing a lot for my peace of mind this week.

I really dig my "job"

Actually, editing manuscripts about far away science is pretty cool. I thought at first it might be just tolerable, but I might look around for more opportunities to do this type of work to keep me busy in the meantime. My one concern- how am I gonna pay these taxes? If I am going to do a lot of freelance work, do those people usually become business entities, or do they just wing it and keep their invoices? Would appreciate any insight before I make a fool of myself.

But yeah, the actual work is pretty easy and not too draining (for now). I can listen to music and drink tea while I do it, too.

Also, I am almost finalized to be a volunteer at the local science center, which is a WAY fun hands-on interactive museum. I'm really looking forward to playing/ helping there. So yeah, one week of work left, and I am looking forward to it. Dr. Boss told me not to worry about getting my stuff cleaned up by the end of the month, I can hang out there if I need for a while. Very generous offer, frankly.

What will it be like?

Even though I have almost nothing left to do, I am still going in to work everyday, for pretty much most of the day. I like seeing my friends, I have a desk to work at and there are a few things left to do. My classmates like to hear about my job search, and it's an easy way to stay in touch with people. Oh, and I'm still technically being paid. I'm sorta too restless for this too last much longer, but I won't be paid come next month, so that's not really an issue.

What will I be doing in September? Well, I'm trying to find a way to volunteer at the Science Center (because it is awesome), and then I've got some fellowship applications to work on. And, of course, I've got that "job." (Air quotes will continue to be used until I get paid- I'm not worried yet, but they don't have enough information about me to pay me yet, so....) Otherwise, I am going to be more focused (I hope) about just applying for jobs. This last month or so has been pretty challenging for me to identify and follow through with positions- being terrified about job hunting is pretty wearing. I'm hoping to have enough fun things going on to force me to schedule more productive things- like job hunting, and thinking about moving- into the vast expanses of free time that are coming.

It surprises me a bit to think that too much unstructured time would be my worst nightmare, but ask Matt, I'm awful at just relaxing. A long weekend of not leaving the house and I'm cooking soup out of freezer burn or making a mess of our filing cabinets. I've been working on a list of "things to do while unemployed" which include such highlights as "exercise" and "sell the old CDs" and "start packing for a move." Enough of my (less sensitive) coworkers have said they'd LOVE to have a few months with nothing to do that I will admit I should find some way to enjoy it. Any good ideas for what to do with an unknown amount of unstructured time, preferably at no cost?

Adventure weekend!

One of my friends had a birthday this week, so we seized on the excuse to celebrate. On Friday, we went to a bowling alley that does bowling and karaoke- bowlaoke. I'm not naturally inclined to either, but in combination, both are way more fun. On Saturday, Matt and I went to the Millvale Brew Festival with some new friends. That was pretty fun, sipping beer in the sunshine down by the river. I was glad to be the driver, my tummy has been giving me all shades of grief and beer doesn't help. Although, neither does the Thai food we went for after. It's hard to make good choices. That evening I went with the birthday girl out to the suburbs to see Dr. Rockstar's band again. It was a great show- lots of science songs and local color.

Today I am wishing I could find a job I want to apply for, which is just torturing myself. Is it a bad idea to go back to school? Do more loans really solve the problem I have? 16 working days left, I am hoping my friends don't forget about me after I don't see them every day...

I've got a "job"

This is my last month of work here in the lab. I was feeling more than a little freaked out that I didn't have something else to do. My boss suggested I teach a course, but I have this hope that it will take less than a semester to find a job (but what if it doesn't?) so I turned it down. This made me feel like I was being wreckless, since, y'know, there isn't a better job forth coming. We've looked at our finances, and we can get by without me working for a pretty long time, as long I don't do anything but sit at home and fret about getting a job. This just sounds miserable.

Then a former grad student from my program suggested that the company he does editing with needs new editors. They want native English speakers to fix manuscripts written by Chinese scientists before submission to English speaking journals. You can do as much or as little as you want, and he says it is a nice side gig for him. He put me in touch, they read my CV and had me do a practice edit and said I have the qualifications they need. This seems like a great way to supplement both my CV and my income. It takes the pressure off me to accept a mismatched job, and actually lets me think about enjoying some free time for a bit. That might let me relax enough to figure out what kind of job I really do want. Of course, this means the job hunt is still on, but it takes care of the short term plan in a very pleasant way.

Something new

If I am to be honest, there are not many aspects of the job hunt that are fun, and there isn't a good way to me to enjoy the parts that I do enjoy. I like telling people what I am learning while I am poking around- it helps me organize my thoughts, and I like to imagine it might benefit some of my peers. But let's be serious, my angst over graduating and worries over where to go while I sit at home and let Matt make bank are not really problems, in the scale of problems. It is hard not to dissolve into whining when I am talking with my friends or husband, and I don't really want to wear them out.

All of this combined to a pretty hysterical job hunt last week prompted me to start writing about it elsewhere. I think that this will perhaps benefit me by serving as a writing sample that does not include a lot of personal information, and perhaps preserve some of these details for when my peers/ colleagues might want to be reminded of them. I am collecting my resources and experiences on a blog at careerscientist.blogspot.com

You are welcome to check it out, please let me know if you run across typos or you think I am writing things that might be negatively tied to my online presence (I am thinking about that quite a lot these days). If you know anyone else who might be interested, please share it! Or you can ignore it- it is probably boring content for non-job-hunting-biologists, and I will still be writing here. I wanted to share since I am kind of excited to have a positive outlet for my experience.

The new me!

One of the things I am finding particularly challenging about job hunting is the need to constantly reinvent myself. I am trying to be flexible about what type of work I can do or accept. This means every time I look at a job, I am assessing if I could do it, if I could succeed, does that get me on track to something else, could I live there? Case in point, this week I applied to be a diary fermentation technician in the Netherlands (cheesemaking might be my calling!), a microbiologist at a diagnostic lab in Fairbanks, and a biological modeler at a biotech across the river. How different would my life be? Somehow, it's a little easier to take rejection of these new versions of myself (yeah, my future might not be in cheese making), but it is hard to keep a sense of what I am really looking for and who I really am in the face of constant redefinition.

However, my friends here are keeping me occupied and upbeat. I had a great birthday- thanks for all the birthday wishes! We had a indulgent trip to a tapas restaurant and plan to host a cocktail party at the house tomorrow. Sounds like a great way to beat the heat- we've had Severe Weather Warnings with combination swampy air and heat for the last couple days, and no sign of a break.

It's hard not to worry

This job market blows. That's what the news says, the unemployment numbers and everything. It's not really surprising, but it means some things for me personally. It means I can't pursue my dream job (science policy) right now- that is, I pursued, but it didn't go anywhere. It means I am already on Plan B and starting to toy with Plan C. Plan B has always been Get A Regular Job in Science. Plan C is Get a Post-doc job. A regular job would be great, but the market is too impacted with people who have more experience or connections or whatever than me. I can't just not work and expect this to change much, so I am going to look for the one job I know I can get. I'm not thrilled about post-docing (which is a training position, meant to provide the additional experience required for a serious Professor Job, an for other jobs is just a rubber stamp to confirm other people think you are hire-able, from what I can tell). But market forces are suggesting that's my best bet. And by market forces, I mean I apply for half a dozen jobs every week, and haven't heard back from an employer in months.

Being patient lasted until I defended. Now I am just ticking off time until my current position expires, and I need to get a lot more aggressive about getting a plan in place. Esp because a post-doc usually takes 6 months to put together- after you've identified a person who is willing to hire you. So, now I am trying to start two kinds of job searches- 1 for jobs I can get as a scientist (geographically anywhere), and 1 for post-docs that will help me get the jobs I want (geographically limited to places I actually want to live). Jobs I want I don't seem to qualify for (and yes, I apply anyway).

The funny thing is, it's really not important to me to Be a Scientist at this point- I'd like to find some satisying work that helps people and where I can be valued and may get to learn some new things. But the only jobs I have any competency for are in science. So I guess I'm stuck on the treadmill, becoming a scientist because that's what I've been good at so far. I'm making plans for places I'd like to volunteer to stay professionally relevant during my "sabbatical," and I'm having nearly weekly meetings with various contacts who might be able to provide me with useful information for my job search. So far, all I'm coming up with is to stay the course, find a post-doc and accept the federal wage and wait to get benefits and hope that in a couple years I'll have the training or contacts needed to succeed in a better job market. Plan D is of course, find any kind of professional opportunity, but since this is the track I know least about, I am most hesitant to pursue it. The whole process is frusterating and draining, and I'm hoping won't take much longer- but I am bracing to have much more free time on my hands.

Anyway- if you know anyone looking to hire someone smart and interested in trying something new.... give me a heads up!

Week 2 post-defense

I'm trying to let my personal life take charge for a little while. Work is still challenging and confusing, but the point of all this madness is that I've paid my dues now, so I'm try to enjoy it a little. Manuscript #2 came back with requests for MAJOR revisions almost immediately, but I'm not going to let that get to me- I imagine the reviewer as some old curmudgeon with nothing to do but act as gatekeeper to the archives of science. We'll sort him soon enough. I've finished making changes to my dissertation and sent a draft of the 220page PDF to the formatting bureaucrats for their approval. In the mean time, ...

Beer club is having regular meetings again, I've been to the farmer's market and watched the the last Harry Potter movie. This is a good idea, because I am going to watch the next one at midnight tomorrow! Matt and I have been playing Little Big Planet like it's 2007, which is both fun, and sign of the fact we actually get to hang out now. I really like that, Matt is pretty cool.

The need to find a job is starting to feel pressing again. I'm trying to be open to opportunity, flexible about my requirements and proactive. So far, no interviews since June- and that job didn't get funded. Hearing the latest economic reports about the state of the economy is not encouraging, so keep and ear out for me people!

Interview update

I mentioned to several of you by phone that I got a call back last week for a job I applied for in January. Besides the obvious shock factor of waiting 6mos for an interview, I am trying not to get to worked up about this. I mean, yeah, it would be my dream job and open the door for me to do the kind of work I really want to do long term, but.... well, it seems to good to be true.

Actually, I should clarify. I am trying not to get too worked up about this. It isn't particularly working. They were supposed to call at 10 on Tuesday, so here is a quick run-down of my Tuesday schedule.

7:04 Wake up with butterflies. Make coffee, eat breakfast and review my notes.
9:10 Arrive at work. Get set up in the conference room I have checked out for the occasion. Continue to review notes, make up fake answers to fake interview questions and wonder what they'll ask.
9:40 Heart in Throat. Decide I may be over prepared and go to talk to coworkers a bit.
9:50 Staring at my cell phone in the conference room. Willing it to ring.
10:00 Sipping water, clearing vocal chords, practicing how I'll answer the phone "Hello?" "Hello!" "Hello."
10:01 Ok, they are late- it's fine. I bet they had other interviews.
10:02 I bet those other interviews went really well
10:03 They like the 9:00 interview so much they are still chatting??
10:04 They've already given the job away. I start making a list of other places I should apply to.
10:05 Maybe they lost my number? I call the lab and ask them to forward anyone calling for me to my cell phone- as if everyone didn't already know I was sweating bullets at the end of the hall waiting for this call.
10:06 Mentally composing cover letters for the other jobs I am applying to- trying to retain some element of dignity.
10:07 *Ringring* At this point I let it ring twice to be sure it wasn't my ears playing tricks on me. "Oh, you need to reschedule? That's FINE, fine... as long as you aren't punking me, we can talk whenever."

10:08 Dismount emotional roller coaster to help my undergrad. Spend the next hour revisiting activities from 9:10 to 10am.

11:30 *Ringring* There are two interviewers, both women, I can't tell them apart. One is an HR person, the other is likely to be my supervisor. They give me a vague rundown of the job- it still sounds awesome- and ask why I am interested in it. I'm glad I just spent 3 hours reviewing the letter I sent them, I tick off the highlights to show why I am interested and well prepared. They ask about how much writing I've done, I'm tempted to mention the blog but think better of it (in case they actually want to read it), and then can't remember where else I've been published. Arg. They ask how I stay organized, what experience I have in organizing workshops ("Oh, workshops? Oh, I do that a lot...") and what my long term goals are. Then they ask when exactly I will be graduating, and when I might be available to start. It's impossible to read them though- they sound dispassionate at best, possibly slightly disappointed, by everything I say except in my last ditch effort- when they ask if I am pursuing other opportunities, I say this is my dream job, and I would jump at the chance to have it. They like that.

They promised to get back to me by the end of the week- there is another round of interviews to get through, so I am just waiting to make the next round, not get an offer. I am not sure what that means I should do- contact them or no? Thanks for the interview, or is that too forward?

In related news, I still haven't heard anything about the local postdoc job. Neither has my potential boss; we are succeeding at being patient at that one.

Also, I defend my dissertation in 14 days. I will perform another experiment tomorrow that may or may not go in it, print it in 4 days, hand it out in 5 days, give a practice talk in 7 days and get really studied up for the next week. Also, find something smart looking to wear for the seminar. And hopefully a job interview.

Status update

I've been overtly hinting that there is a lot going on here, so a quick summary of the ever changing landscape of a near graduating grad student.

Manuscript 1: Recently rejected, still on track for eventual publication

Manuscript 2: In the hands of my collaborators, and then going directly to Dr. Boss before submission to publication (read: I'm done, I think)

Manuscript 3: This is mostly going to be a project for my undergrad, but this week I finished my contribution to this until the summer. In the summer, we may both be working on this story full time.

Manuscript 4: This is a new, and short, collaboration with the collaborator on Manuscript 1- I am on track to finish this in time to start writing.

93 days until defense, 16 days until I start writing. I keep setting this as a date, I plan to stop all experiments for 2 months to write like a crazy person. I might not come in to work- I'll see what is effective for me. Job hunt is slowed by the business of above, but I am on the hunt for science policy, or applied science jobs, or jobs that involve technical communication. Since I don't have a finish date here in Dr. Boss's lab (assume end of the summer, but this will depend on how Manuscripts 1 and 3 shake out), there is still lots of time on the clock to find something- if you hear of anyone looking to hire, send them my way!

My employment history

I may have mentioned recently, but one of the fellowships I am applying for wants my last 15 year of employment history. Since I don't actually HAVE 15 years of history, I am hoping to fill in as much as possible of what there is. But, I don't seem to remember what I was doing. Did I work after I came back from Portugal? Did I have a job before analytica? When did I start working at UAS? If anyone wants to help me brainstorm up these details, I'd appreciate the help.