This fall has brought me way more travel than I'm used to. I went to a meeting a several weeks ago, then there was a departmental retreat, and now I'm getting ready to go to France on Friday! This is my first international travel for work and I'm super nervous about it. At least Research Advisor is going too. I'm happy about that because it will make the travel easier and because it will be nice to have some quality time to catch up. Like about how we're both so sad about Awesome Technician leaving (I cried at her good-bye lunch, which is the first time I've ever cried at work about anything). After the conference, I'm going to travel to another French city to visit Ecogeoman's sister. That should be great fun as well.
All this has been happening in the midst of intense planning the conference we're hosting, working out the kinks in a lab experiment, and planning a major field experiment. That is to say, I'm juggling way more balls than I have before. That's cool because this kind of multi-tasking is what I'm supposed to be learning as my career progresses. On the other hand, the stress makes me wonder if I would be happy with a job like PI's with this kind of stress day in and day out except times ten.
6 comments:
I've recently been experiencing the same ball juggling issues at work (including beloved colleagues departing) and definitely understand. After reading you for the past couple of years I have no doubt you absolutely can do it though - good luck adapting to the changes.
I supose/hope you get used to more and more multitasking on the way until you're in all that stress all the time and it is sort of the way things are ... I know that is not entirely true, but still, looking at students who can barely do 2 things and remember their own name, we've come a long way already.
Have fun in France!
Bon voyage!
I like travelling for work from time to time. Almost all* of my trips in this job have been to the exact same place, which is still fun (and it's nice to get to know the people down there and learn my way around the confusingly laid-out hotel, which is starting to feel very familiar and homey). But I miss the variety of destinations I got in my last job.
*the one exception was a day trip to Calgary airport. As in, the meeting was in a room in the airport hotel, which is essentially IN the airport. We didn't even go outside.
Aw, thanks Heather. What a nice comment. :)
I agree Nina! It's amazing how things gradually build up. It's the idea that the craziness will feel normal that has me worried!
Cath, I like traveling too once I'm there (and home again), but I hate getting ready to travel. So much stress and irrational worry. That would probably be much less if I were going the same place each time. But I agree that the variety is cool and the travel is definitely a perk of the job.
damn, I'm going back to France on Tuesday, two years after I left
To me traveling always seems to make the ball juggling more intense. Also, the traveling seems like a great idea six months out, but when it's two weeks away, it seems like it couldn't be at a worse time. At least, that's how it always is for me. I think traveling to France might ease that pain a bit, unlike Omaha, which is where I am going next week. ;)
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