A World of Opportunities

I was an extremely happy lab rat—I loved being at the bench. I would stay awake at night thinking of the questions that most interested me and dreaming up experiments that would address them. I had a good publication record and landed a post-doc in a top laboratory that I hoped would help me launch a successful academic career. In the summer of my fourth year as a post-doc, I presented my research at an international meeting. I was delighted when scientists at other universities expressed interest in my work—a few even approached me to see whether I’d be going on the job market soon.