Being a junior researcher often means not calling a place home for longer than a few years — if you're lucky. Although I once believed the nomadic life to be romantic and adventurous, it has become increasingly burdensome and tiring.

I decided when I was 17 to become a physicist, knowing that the decision meant eventually leaving my home country of Iran. Although I received a good undergraduate education at Iran's top technical university, graduate research requires much freer communication with the scientific community than I could have reasonably expected there. In Iran, merely travelling to an international conference requires months of visa paperwork. As a recent graduate with little family responsibility, I was thrilled at 22 to move to a new country, experience a new culture and pursue my studies in a vibrant scientific community in Canada.

In the 10 years since I first moved, I have applied for two postdocs and multiple faculty positions, relocating yet again across national borders. Each time my search has spanned several continents. And while the search itself may not displace my family, there is enormous pressure exerted by the search process. As I make the transition to becoming a family man with two children, I find that we do not feel as if we can put down roots and that having a fixed address for only a couple of years has become an unbearable burden. Watching my family cope with the hardship of moving and adapting to a new place pains me. I sometimes feel selfish for putting them through this ordeal time and again for my own career advancement. Sooner or later I need to satisfy my family's need for a more stable life.

Calling a place home has sounded like a false hope for a long time. This is the reality of a career in research, especially in academia, and it is a reality I cannot hope to escape — at least for the moment. Science is global and the job market is extremely competitive. I just finished sending a batch of applications for faculty positions next year. I hope to find a more permanent arrangement some day. But, as I finish my last year of a second postdoc, I wonder how soon that might be. To expedite my search, will I have to compromise on my ideal job?