Terp in the Secret City - being a post-doc at a national laboratory

National labs are a foundation of publicly funded science in the US. Working at a national lab is a great opportunity to progress in research albeit in a very different environment than academia. In this talk, I reflect on my own transition from graduate school to Oak Ridge National Lab and offer perspective on life as an early career physicist at the lab. I also draw on the experience of my post-doctoral peers to offer a broader view.