I Am Going To Graduate! (And Possibly Going To Back To Los Alamos.)

As some of you may have noticed, I have been neglecting the blog for several months.  The biggest reason is I have frantically been playing the game of both doing research and applying for jobs; a combination that is stressful enough that it is nearly impossible to maintain any side hobbies.

One glance at the Astro Rumor Mill, where the state of the cosmology/astrophysics jobs are being discussed, you will see that there are several hundred applicants applying for a lesser number of positions.   (Which alone is stressful) Now add the fact that you start seeing other people's names get entered onto that page having received offers or being shortlisted while you are receiving rejection letters starting in December and you can get an understanding why come the end of January you might start feeling as stressed as you ever were awaiting the decision of whether you passed or failed the comprehensive exam.

I plan on making a couple blog posts on this as many of you will go through this yourself and I want you to be well prepared. :)

With all that out of the way, a quick glance at that rumor mill and you will find I was offered a Director's Fellowship at the Los Alamos National Laboratory.  This is a good offer and it means, among other things: I will be able to graduate this year for sure!!! Graduate school is going to actually come to an end in the coming months!

Now, there is still time to receive other offers, for example the Hubble Fellowships have not yet been named which among many circles are considered a bit more prestigious, so it isn't 100% I will take this offer yet.  However, I am very happy to have received this offer as the Director's Fellowship is a great offer and Los Alamos is a great institution to do research at. (And am happy and excited you know what offers you all will have in the coming years.)