Where to go next

Having completed my thesis proposal last month I now have a nicely laid out plan to complete my thesis research that should see me graduating by next August or December at the latest. I am thrilled to have finally set up the steps toward a solid project, and even more thrilled that I will graduate. Soon. Yes, graduating and getting a "real job" is exciting in itself, but even more so since it involves another person.

Most of you reading this know my boyfriend, J. Besides the fact that I think he's hot stuff (intellectually and otherwise :-)), scientifically he is also pretty stellar. When we started dating, 3 and something years ago, he was on track to have a high impact publication. Right out of the starting gate in grad school. Amazing. So it may not be such a surprise that he is almost done with his thesis project, and has secured a job offer with one the most renowned labs in our field. But...it gets better. He most likely will have another, stellar, job offer by the end of this month. Just wow.

So, that brings us to the idea of graduating. He will graduate a few months before me, so his decision on where to post-doc obviously affects where I will search for jobs. This has not been a one-sided discussion either. Unlike some men, who would do what was best for them and worry about anyone else later, the availability of jobs for me has been one of his concerns in discussing which job to take (love that man of mine!). Luckily, both of his job offers have ample Biotech industry in the area, so finding my job should be no problem. That means that - at this point - we will be either in Boston or San Francisco area for the coming few years! More to come on that soon!