Published online 25 February 2009
Postdoc journal
Nice day for a white wedding?
Joanne Isaac
Joanne Isaac is a postdoc in climate-change effects on biodiversity at James Cook University in Townsville, Australia.
A shotgun wedding and a big move
So much for my plan. I had every intention of facing the challenges of the new year with serene Zen-like calm, but I have already crumbled like a stale biscuit. In my defence, the challenges have been stacking up rapidly of late.
We returned home from a New Year camping trip to find my partner, Brett, had been offered a two-year postdoc in Colorado. After the euphoria, we quickly realized that we have only a few months to pack up our life, uproot our three-year-old son, and organize visas and flights for our overseas move.
However, our problems entered a whole new dimension when we discovered that our relationship is not recognized by the United States for visa purposes. For me to accompany Brett to the United States we have to get married — now!
So, in addition to working three separate postdoc contracts, which requires exceptional multitasking skills and many more hours than there are in the week, I now have to organize my nuptials. Although I am overjoyed for Brett, and excited about moving, I can't help but worry about my own career. As I plan to get married and support Brett in his new position, will my career ebb away while his takes off?
Perhaps I should take my own advice, and view this challenge as an opportunity to grow. Maybe I should even think seriously about those other, more child-friendly careers I've heard so much about.
Postdoc Journal Keepers 2009
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Julia BoughnerJulia Boughner is a postdoc in evolutionary developmental biology at the University of Calgary, Canada.
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Bryan VentersBryan Venters is a postdoc in biochemistry and molecular biology at Pennsylvania State University.
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Joanne IsaacJoanne Isaac was a postdoc studying the effect of climate change on biodiversity at James Cook University in Townsville, Australia. She is now in the United States so that her husband can complete a postdoc.
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Sam WalcottSam Walcott is a postdoc in theoretical biophysics at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.
