I recently reread @Oatmeal's comic about creativity, and one line stood out to me like no other: "Every day I've worked on The Oatmeal, I've assumed that I'd be forgotten within a year." It conjures memories of grad school and being a postdoc. #phdchat 1/n https://theoatmeal.com/comics/creativity_business

Often when I attended a conference I wondered if it would be my last one. As a grad student, every paper acceptance was sacred, & every conference trip was extraordinary. I wanted to think many more conferences lay ahead, but it seemed plausible I would never get so lucky again.

As a postdoc on the academic job market for several years, I didn't know whether I'd be able to remain in academia. Where would I be in a year, and what would I do? I rarely knew. It was a long, slow burn of rising uncertainty. I talk about it some here: https://shomir.net/failure.html 

It's a hard way to live. Between August 2010 (late grad school) and August 2016 (1st tenure-track position), my home address changed five times, all for major moves. Most faculty candidates are luckier (they get an offer sooner) or after awhile they have to leave for industry.

There were many adventures, though: travel, getting to know new places, and making friends. Being forgotten wasn't the greatest risk. In retrospect, a greater risk might have been not finding meaning in my time and experiences. It took years, but I gradually did.

If you're reading this and you're on the academic job market this fall, that's what I'd hope for you more than getting an offer: finding meaning in what happens.

Of course, I know the tenure-track position is the goal. But peace of mind is ultimately better. (/end)