The end of an era... Part II

You can find Part I here.

I moved to Boston in June 2016 with renewed enthusiasm. I was determined to make the most of the combined setup of experimental and theoretical research in the lab. And, let me tell you performing experiments is no easy task. It requires a lot of careful planning and execution, and for statistical robustness, a lot of repetition as well. I have written about this earlier, but it took me close to a year to learn everything and be comfortable about executing it without supervision. Another challenge that I faced as a new experimentalist was my inability to understand what would and wouldn't work as an approach to answer a particular scientific question. This, I struggled with for a while, until I gradually gained enough experience to understand the nitty-gritty of any approach. 

Alongside my research, my quest for a healthy personal life continued as before. I became part of the Harvard Postdoctoral Association within the first month of my postdoctoral tenure. I took up the duties associated with it, mostly for selfish reasons, which was to be part of a community in doing things together. But, it turned out to be more than that. We organized research symposiums, networking events, social gatherings and the like which was enriching and also a lot of fun. This led to other outings and the formation of a volleyball team which I quite enjoyed. I also met up with fellow IIScians and they became my weekly lunch/dinner companions.

I think the presence of these groups is what kept me sane during my lonely days in the lab. After the first year of my stay there, the lab was slowly thinning out as people graduated. In my final year of postdoc, it reached a point where I and only one other postdoc were left in the lab. Due to some issues and with my advisor being busy with his startup company, there were many days where I was the only person in the lab and the day would pass without me having had any human interaction. This was quite difficult and due to a combination of some personal decisions, loneliness and delayed or negative results in research, I went into depression. It reached a point where I started considering not just leaving academia altogether but also considering quitting on a whim just to get out of this rut. I felt thoroughly demotivated and was lacking in confidence.

My family and my boyfriend tried to cheer me up as much as they could but what ultimately helped was me keeping up with my daily routine at work. I kept going to work and also started looking for jobs during this time. I was in a confused state at this time, not knowing what I wanted to do in the future. I landed a few industry interviews, but after a few of these I realized that this was not for me. I didn't want to just apply my data science skills over and over again on problems I had no interest in.

The turning point for me finally came in last summer, when I attended a 3 day symposium of young investigators, which also hosted an interaction session with the deans and directors of some of the premium research institutes of India. I grabbed the opportunity to give a small presentation. I also met several people and was encouraged to apply for a faculty position. Somehow, unbeknown to me, I did make an impression. Within a week of my application to IISER Bhopal, I landed an interview. And, a week later, in June, I had the offer letter.

I sometimes wonder at this series of coincidences. When I went for the workshop, I had no idea that I would land up in Bhopal. It wasn't even on my radar, but, here I am. In any case, I was relieved that I was no longer going to be jobless come December. However, it still took a good few months for me to completely come out of depression. Last year was hard, but somehow not giving up did pay off in the end. And finally, the icing on the cake was the last conversation with my postdoc advisor, because the best feeling in the world is when your boss says that you've done a good job.

I moved back to India in Feb 2019 to start a new life. But, Boston is still my favorite city in the world and I do miss it sometimes. It is the liveliest and quirkiest of places that I've lived in. It is also very safe, so much so that I've even taken the public transport at 12:00 midnight without a care. I am so grateful for this experience of living in a completely new country. I now have friends from many parts of the world, have tasted many different cuisines and wines 😉, traveled to so many places both within US and in Europe, played new sports/games, learnt new skills and lived a whole new life. I have loved each one of these things and wouldn't trade it for anything. I cannot imagine not having this experience now.

So, I don't know, five years and two cities seems like a long winded journey to finally get here. Now, let's see how the future holds up.

xxRS