It is the first working day of a new year, and I woke up in my own bed in the Netherlands next to a very pregnant partner and a very angry cat waiting to be fed. In the past days, I did not need to worry about train delays or plane cancellations, as I did at the starts of the past three years. I also did not need to worry about any travel restriction or about getting a negative PCR test result (in time), as I currently only travel to and from the garbage bin and the local supermarkets. The year 2023 thus started quite calmly for me after a year which featured quite significant changes, for example by moving from Switzerland to the Netherlands, by starting to live together with my partner again, and by getting a cat.
Clearly, my personal life changed quite a bit last year, although my professional life may have changed even more, notably upon starting as an assistant professor at the University of Groningen and the University Medical Center Groningen in March 2022. In this function, I am not so much carrying out experiments myself anymore as I am supervising the research projects of various Bachelor’s, Master’s, and PhD students. In addition, I am enrolled in a training program to obtain my University Teaching Qualification, as I should spend around 30% of my time on teaching activities. Also, I am contributing to all sorts of organizational tasks which go beyond my research and teaching duties, such as organizing integrative activities within the institute (or hosting baking contests within the department).
Looking back on my working life between obtaining my Master’s degree in 2014 and re-starting in Groningen in 2022, I worked almost exclusively as an academic researcher, first as a PhD student and later as a postdoctoral researcher. In the former position, I worked on a few projects which were mostly initiated by my PhD supervisors. These supervisors furthermore kept a close eye on my progress and made adjustments to my research plans if needed. In the latter position, I basically only worked on one project which I had devised myself. Admittedly, I did receive some suggestions and feedback from my supervisor in Geneva, since my plans needed to match his research interests and the equipment present in his laboratory.
All things considered, my professional life was quite orderly between 2014 and 2022. I woke up thinking about research, I went to bed thinking about research, and I dreamed about research. In the past ten months, however, there were several moments that I did not feel that much of a researcher at all. Instead, I frequently woke up as a(n aspiring) teacher, went to bed as a (novice) supervisor, and dreamed about management skills (to be acquired). In other words, my life is currently not as orderly as it was in the eight years before. And all things considered, I love the life I am currently living with all its changes, both in my personal and my professional lives.
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