There comes a time in every scientists life where you have to consider your greater future. Not just your future career and aspirations as a career scientist but the future of your life. Sure some of us who are finishing graduate school have a spouse and that can make life decisions a little more focused because there are two of you. Sometimes you may even have children which narrows down the decision making options even further. But for those of us who are single and fancy free, we have decisions, choices, and long term planning to consider.
The average age of a postdoc these days is 34 years old and after that your looking at 6-7 years before your on a tenure track position, its safe to say that life is not going to wait for you to settled into a nice comfy job before you find the one. Sure, I'm first to admit that dating and carrying out concentration demanding experiments can seem like a dichotomy and sometimes dating a fellow scientist makes the dichotomy even more obvious. However you have to try, and you have to plan your life. There is no sense in loosing out on a good portion of your early days as a mature adult, slaving over every whim and worry your supervisor has, and potentially missing out on making real deep and lasting connection with someone, potentially a lifelong partner.
Deciding to move to the U.S. has its cons in this regard since, if you have a sweetheart here in winterland, you will leave he or she behind if they are in a career building position or they may move with you. If your single, well then your a free bird and my concern is with you my singlets......
The people who aren't "tied down" by a significant other may feel like they are free to build their career and work as hard as they can to achieve the perfect publication record, build a network of colleagues, work at the best institutions, and spend their earnings at their discretion. But your doing so alone. Moving to the US should be looked at as an opportunity to not only develop your research skills but to also find a partner or start making some serious commitments to someone you already have. Your mature enough now that you should know what works for you and what doesn't. What you can deal with and what you cannot. Make some personal decisions before making the big move and start thinking about your personal life, you've probably neglected it long enough and its starting to get a bit moldy. If you have someone in your life, now's the time to talk about your relationship, not a few days before you leave. If your single make it a priority that you'll start meeting people and learning not only about the skills you are gaining but also the people around you, take interest in developing your social life. There's also the benefit of finding a partner when your more mature and comfortable with who you are. People who are a bit older tend to have a more logical and down to earth view of themselves and the things around them, and can find the commonality between you, sometimes you are this person.
Whatever your case is, as you make this transition into the next stage of your scientific career start thinking about more than just your science life, think about your personal life too, make some commitments, and don't worry your not alone!
More data on Canadian postdoc's!
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