New Blogger: Natassia Robinson

23 March, 2021

Hej everyone! I’m Natassia, but my friends call me Tass, and I’m a (relatively) new postdoc at KI. There are no two ways about it, 2020 was a tough year for us all. So why might you ask, would one choose to move to a new country, and start a new project in a new field, in the midst of a pandemic? See 1^st meme.

May be an image of 1 person and text that says "a MEMES HIGH IMPACT career Syndrome Stockholm Stockhon MIND The is academic caused by MY CHANGE" — facebook.com/MemingPhD

Just kidding. The clock started ticking from the day I started my first post-doc, a 6-month project that kicked off at the start of the year when the world seemed full of opportunity. Nonetheless with the nagging ticking time bomb of a short-term academic position (perhaps something to dissect another time!). Oh the benefit of hindsight, almost makes you want to go back and savour the 3-4 years of job security during the PhD (almost, but not quite). Anyway, I digress…

The coronavirus pandemic triggered a hiring freeze across many universities across the UK: recruitment was halted for jobs I had already applied for and even for ones I’d been offered interviews for, thereby limiting the possibility of any future vacancies indefinitely (sigh). With the bleak job prospects (plus the impending doom of Brexit) I began looking further afield and was fortunate to be offered a position at Karolinska.

May be a meme of 2 people, outerwear and text that says "When you finally finish the PhD a a MEMES HIGH IMPACT PhD Fortunately Fsaovr the bad days are over Now it's time for even worse davs" — facebook.com/MemingPhD

Fast forward to September and off I went to embark on my new life in Stockholm as a starry-eyed postdoc. In this blog I plan to share my experiences in the hope that it might resonate with others who are likely going through similar challenges, and also perhaps even get a conversation going (please do it would be so lovely to hear from you). I’m not as jaded as the memes make me seem (honest). However, I do love a good moan, so expect blunt musings on the daily trials and tribulations of life as an early career researcher, intertwined with a bit of inspiration, and maybe topics touching on social, feminist and political issues.