Yesterday, I finally accepted the offer at Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory in upstate NY. I will be a physicist associate helping to design nuclear submarines, used by the Navy. It takes a while to get through the hiring process at labs, so I'll be in the Bay Area for a few more months. Though I spent some time trying to get their offer to go up, it remained at 5% below X dollars until I finally accepted. Secretary Chu froze the salaries for all labs similar to KAPL, so I know exactly what I'll be making through 2012. It is a little depressing, but at least I'll be making three times the $$ I've been making in grad school (while living somewhere dramatically cheaper). I only have to work for them for a year without repaying my relocation expenses, so if it sucks, I'll only have 12 months of it.
Also, last Thursday, I started an internship at PowerWorks, the company in charge of the windmills along Altamont Pass. I'm a Project Engineer: currently analyzing wind data from last summer to find inefficiencies, and soon I'll be siting and proposing new projects in wind energy. This will hold me over until I start my real job at KAPL later this year. One good thing when I was hired here is that when they offered me the job, I counter-offered $3 more an hour, and they accepted! At least I have one $$ win this year! It's not great money (certainly not what I'm used to getting paid at internships), but it isn't awful considering that I'm temporary and that I wanted to find something quick.
I thought that accepting the KAPL job and landing the PW internship would really set me at ease. I mean, my life is figured out now. Not true. More questions just keep coming along. When will I move to NY? Will Annie be able to come with me immediately? Should we stay somewhere temporarily and be able buy a house? Will it be fun? Will my job suck? What if we don't make friends? Am I truly ready to return to the crazy winters, like they've have this year?
Is being a real person always like this: constant worry?
~RoB
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