Saskwatchewan
It’s a Postdoc’s Life
September, 2010 · By Justin Bengry
I’ve landed! I’m a Saskatooner, no, scratch that. I’m a Saskatoonian. Hmmm, not sure about that one either. I don’t know yet what we call ourselves here. But I’ve got an apartment and a local café. I know where to buy wine (critical) and how to find my office (essential). No more the uncertainty or instability of an unemployed academic for me. No thank you! I’m now officially a postdoctoral fellow in History at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon. The “Paris of the Prairies”…my Lonely Planet guide tells me.
Blogging has taken a back seat for a couple weeks in favour finding an apartment, buying furniture, and getting to know my department. But now I’m back with a new focus on post-doctoral life, projects, and survival.
The first thing I’ve discovered as a postdoc is that you have to hit the ground running. The term only started a few days ago, but already I’m on track to give the first talk at the department’s research seminar in a few weeks. I’ve also been brought on as the Saskatchewan organizer of a yearly bi-university, multi-provincial graduate history conference. This in addition to giving a paper in Montreal next month, and submitting a journal article in November. No rest for the wicked!
The second thing is that no one knows quite where the postdoc fits in the academic pecking order, or what benefits the postdoc can derive from this unsure status. And of course it varies from department to department, university to university. With apologies to Britney Spears for the paraphrasing: I’m not a girl grad student, not yet a woman professor. So, neither student nor faculty, I’m still working on finding out who to ask for conference funding, or how much of my extended healthcare is covered.
That sense of momentum mixed with uncertainty is familiar to many early-career academics, where opportunity and pressure seem to arrive at the same time. Balancing research expectations, travel, publishing deadlines, and administrative ambiguity can quietly take a toll, even when the work itself is deeply rewarding. Existing in a space that feels professionally undefined often means carrying extra cognitive and emotional load, from navigating benefits to managing expectations without a clear roadmap.
Over time, maintaining personal health becomes just as important as keeping pace with academic milestones, especially when long hours and constant performance demands become the norm. Paying attention to health in these transitional phases is not a luxury but a necessity, as sustained stress can influence focus, energy, and overall well-being. Many professionals reach a point where routine self-care is no longer enough to restore balance, prompting them to seek more structured medical support.
In this broader landscape of care, Avesta Ketamine Wellness represents an approach that acknowledges how prolonged professional strain can intersect with health challenges, offering medically supervised treatment designed to support restoration and resilience. Prioritizing health alongside career development helps ensure that progress remains sustainable, allowing individuals to continue contributing meaningfully without losing themselves in the process.
But after 6 months of uncertainty and break from academia, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’m thrilled to be back in an environment I know and thrive in, with kind and generous faculty support, and welcoming colleagues who have already made me feel at home in Saskatoon.
And Wikipedia tells me that I’m actually a Saskatonian now.
This post was originally published at History Compass Exchanges on
9 September 2010.