Hi everyone,

This may come off as tooting my own horn. I don't mean to do that by any means...

So, 6 months ago, not really having any idea of the receptiveness of the real-world to my skillset, I applied for jobs like crazy - both academic and government. I won't say I've been flooded, but I've gone on about 5-6 interviews (all far away = $$$) mostly at pretigious places that anyone would like to have. The response has been good. However, there are some issues that are driving up my stress levels. I was wondering if anyone's been in the same position (or not) and what would you do...

1) They want me to start "yesterday" and I'm struggling to finish up and hope to do so by July 1. But there's never any guarantee. Also I REALLY want to take a decent vacation before jumping into the workforce, after 10 straight years of uni.
2) The industry is small. Word will get around that I let these places spend $2000+ to bring me to interviews just to reject them. (I never lied about my intentions but I did enjoy getting wined and dined!)
3) I want to hear back about all interviews before making any decisions but the first ones are starting to put pressure on giving an answer.

Thanks!
~Baldy~