Job hunting in Switzerland

In 2009, when we decided to stay here, Lisa began looking for a job.  She’s a veterinarian, specifically a horse vet.  She’s never even tended to our own house pets (save the kitchen table spaying of the Australian Shepherd twenty-five years ago but that’s another story).   For a variety of reasons, she determined at the outset that this was a good time to break from her clinical past and try something new.  My employer arranged for a consultant to help her, a nice young German woman named Petra.  Right from the beginning, however,  Petra was convinced that Lisa’s only hope was in clinical practice, never mind that Lisa told her repeatedly that she didn’t want to do that.  In Petra’s mind, Lisa’s wishes were irrelevant and trivial details.  Strange coming from a 32 year old former post doc with a baby and no idea what she wanted to do with her own life, but I digress.  Lisa’s view was that this was a chance for a change, her opportunity for a glimpse into the corporate world, the land of milk and honey.  Finally, she would understand why Dilbert is funny.  Petra was persistent, though, and didn’t give up on the vet idea until she learned that most of the surrounding cantons didn’t recognize Lisa’s US veterinary degree.   Another funny little Swiss thing but in this case it worked to our advantage.  Forced off plan, Petra had no choice but to do what Lisa wanted and soon arranged several interviews in Basel and the surrounding area.    Within two months, Lisa had two offers but the position that she ultimately accepted was one she found herself via friends in our neighborhood (another reason to assimilate).   This was as a Scientific Collaborator at the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute and it couldn’t have worked out better.  The projects are fascinating.  Her colleagues are interesting.   Her boss is great.  Along the way, she picked up a Masters in Epidemiology and now, more than five years later, she’s loving it more than ever.   And she gets to take our dog to work with her.