The classic question… isn’t it? It reminds me of a poem I read somewhere way back: “To go is always the rule, to stay, an exception…,” which is, of course, too abstract to be taken literally.

Should I stay here as a postdoc (which will be followed, probably, with another postdoc somewhere else), or should I go ahead and take the position I’m offered?

The main question is whether I am ready. There are still things that I want to learn and skills I want to develop, and I’m not sure if jumping at the first available position is the right thing to do. And my friends are here, which I want to stay close to (I don’t know how the bad-*%# Faustus became a softy… excuse my language, but I don’t know the polite word for it!). On the other hand, there is the excitement in trying out something totally new, and there is the appealing idea of independence.

I think I’ll do the standard thing… talk to as many people as I can to get more information, and make a list of pros/cons (I know that it doesn’t mean much, but it’s part of the process).