I am a Research Associate in the Education department of a UK university. I am at the start of my second career, having completed my PhD, and am currently on a fixed-term contract. I am finding my way in academia and bringing up a family at the same time. My daily life consists of a short commute to a shared office and, having taken a side-step from my PhD focus, I spend a lot of time reading and writing. I also enjoy playing the ukulele and walking Oscar, our golden Cocker Spaniel. I have just been awarded funding for a research project which I am the Principal Investigator on, so things are going to get interesting.