I went to the job market in January 2015 and received several offers. I decided to accept a tenure-track position at the University of Cologne. But before starting in Cologne, I had the unique opportunity to visit Stephan Meier at Columbia Business School. Together with this inspiring and extremely clever scholar, I dug deeper into the topics I was so passionate about, such as corporate social responsibility and the meaning of work. While it was hard to leave New York, my four years in Cologne were very formative as I started to fill increasingly at ease in the shoes of a (junior) professor. My academic profile was taking more and more shape. I had a clear research agenda and could align my teaching with my research interests by developing new courses on social entrepreneurship and on intrinsic motivation and leadership. It was such a blessing to be able to convey the students my enthusiasm about these topics! Furthermore, during these four years I could finally harvest the products of the long and hard labor of my PhD by seeing my papers finally being published. But most importantly, during this time, I gave birth to my two adorable sons, Lorenz and Julian. In June 2019, around the same date of Julian’s birth, I received the official offer for a full professorship at the University of Regensburg. A few months later, I moved with my family to Bavaria, into a small old farmhouse in the countryside north-east of Munich, surrounded by all the little big wonders of nature, and joined Regensburg as Professor of Empirical Economics.

I spent the following seven years at the University of Regensburg. These were important years for me, both academically and personally. I consolidated my research agenda on the meaning of work and non-monetary incentives and gradually expanded it toward broader questions about well-being and mental health. My research during these years increasingly moved outside the laboratory and into the field, allowing me to collaborate with firms, schools, and public institutions and to study questions that I deeply care about in real-world settings. At the same time, I was learning how to combine an intense academic career — including a long commute — with being a very devoted and present mother to two young children. Experiencing this balancing act first-hand made me understand much more deeply the challenges faced by families with young children and, in particular, by women who want to pursue ambitious careers without giving up family life.

In October 2026, another chapter began: I joined Johannes Kepler University Linz as Professor of Labor Economics. What attracted me to JKU was first and foremost its people. I found a young, dynamic, and ambitious group of economists, with an exciting combination of fields and perspectives and a strong culture of interaction and collaboration. It felt like the right environment for the next stage of my academic journey: a place where I can continue developing my research at the intersection of behavioral economics, labor economics, and (mental) health economics.

This new chapter does not mean leaving Bavaria behind. My family and I still live in our (now newly renovated) farmhouse in the Bavarian countryside, and during the semester I commute between home and Linz — combining two places that, in very different ways, are now part of my life.