Yes, the year is almost over, but even more sadly, EAR, the Early-career Acousticians Retreat, is over.
It was a pleasure to be included and granted for travel subsidies for this event hosted by the American Society of Acoustics in San Diego. I have met lots of peers from the academia, the industry and the government.
We shared issues and possible fixes and got great training on mentoring and improving our career.
Being there was thrilling, and I'm just trying to recollect all the good lessons I've learned.
Here's one picture that speaks more than anything (some people laughed, some cried!). Active academics know what I'm talking about ;)
(taken from the presentation "Mentoring 101" from Naomi Levy)
For the moment, I think I found a good balance between work and free time, and I have good excitement rather than awful stress. What I'm missing is a regular contact with my academic community and maybe some space (even virtual) to discuss with colleagues all over the world our role as academics, research methods, peer-review and ethics.
I'm thankful again to the ASA and hope to see those people soon around.