I have had an exceptionally long career as a full-time researcher at the University of Helsinki, from 1996 until 2015. These 19 years have been filled with plenty of different temporary contracts, ranging from research positions in various projects to the more prestigious Research Fellow posts with the Academy of Finland and the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies.

In 2007 I was even awarded a second Academy Research Fellowship, something which rarely occurs. Those five years, in particular, counterbalanced in a decisive and productive way the insecurity of temporary jobs: my profile as a researcher was enhances, with many new findings, national and international collaboration, doctoral students, dozens of invitations to present my research abroad and positions of trust in the research community.

At some point I was travelling every week for five consecutive weeks, using the weekends to unpack, re-pack, water the plants at home, and prepare my talk for the next conference. A colleague even expressed concern for the way I was neglecting my extraordinarily supportive family!