Nate Emery is a post-doctoral researcher in the Dept. Plant Biology at Michigan State University. Visit his website or follow him on Twitter for more info.

[Nate writes...] So much of life is figuring out what you want to do. As you go from one life step to the next, everyone asks "What are you going to do now?" or "What will you do with ___ degree?" More often is the case where you don't find "the answer" immediately, nor did you know what "your passion" was since age 5. 

[Anna writes...] It's me. Actually, it's the research. 

​I have known I would leave academia since Monday, February 25, 2013. It was my first year of grad school. A professor in my department’s wife had had a baby the day before, on Sunday. On Monday he came into work like it was a normal day.

[Anna writes...] Let me start off by saying I firmly believe that Gary Johnson knows what “Aleppo” is and does, in fact, know many names of many foreign leaders. I believe this because when I listened to the recordings of those interviews, I had horrible comprehensive exam flashbacks.

​​Hello, my name is Anna, I’m a grad student, and I’m an ESFJ.

“Hi, Anna.”
​
Many don’t put a lot of stock into Meyers-Briggs and other personality tests, but the majority seem to gush over how accurately the tests “get them.” I’m with the majority.

I have discovered that two of my major complaints about graduate school are:
1.   I actually hate working alone, and
2.  There isn't any positive feedback. When you pass your comprehensive exams, or publish a paper (the "big" achievements), you're really just doing what you're supposed to do. You might get a pat on the back or a celebratory lunch with the lab, but really you're just relieved that you're not a bad student who didn't do those things.

Teaching, however, is the complete opposite.

Many jobs have a "busy season," whether it's final exams for students, winter holidays for retailers, or tax season for accountants. Mine is field season set-up in May.