I read this article years ago about an academic who found joy in her tenure-track years by imagining it was just a 7-year postdoc.

In part, it reads like a coping mechanism; a deliberate falsehood designed as armor against the “misery-inducing battle” that is being tenure-track. And it worked for her.

However, I’m currently visiting for 4 months at a university in Germany and things are different in Europe. I may have the title “Assistant Professor” but for the Europeans facts is facts. If you don’t have a permanent job, you ARE a postdoc. 

I’ve only been here for a couple weeks and I’ve slipped in seamlessly with the postdocs in the algebra and number theory group here. I can’t wait to see what else they have to teach me.