Does a Fellowship Yield Scientific Independence or Does the Boss Rule?
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Dear Dora,
I’m graduating in the next year and will be applying for postdoc labs and fellowships as soon as possible. If I get a fellowship that pays for my salary and supplies, do I have any obligation to do the project my postdoctoral advisor wants me to do – or can I say no and do my own thing?
– Thom, Grad student
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Dear Thom,
When you apply for a postdoctoral fellowship, you usually need to write a research proposal. If your proposal is approved then the agency will expect you to carry out the research in order to get funding. NIH grants, for example, require you to have a sponsor (your PI) on a grant and your PI will also expect you to complete the research, otherwise their NIH funding might be jeopardized in the future too. You also need to write annual progress reports, and the agency will need to approve it in order to extend your funding. So, you cannot just do “your own thing” but you can say no to un-related projects.
If you do apply for NIH funding (as many post-doctoral fellows in the life sciences), you need to be aware of the “payback” period. For every month of support during the first 12 months, you need to “pay back” the NIH with the same number of months of service in health research. If your fellowship is 24 months, then the second 12 months is the payback for the fist 12 months and you are done. If you quit after 20 months then, within three years, you need to engage for at least four months in health sciences related work such as research or teaching. For most post-doctoral fellows this is not an issue since they would be following their career path anyway, but if you decide to quit science and become a lawyer, doctor, or writer, then after three years you would need to pay back four months of post-doctoral salary. Details can be found at:
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This is probably more info than you were looking for, but I have met so many scientists who chose to follow alternative career paths that I thought I would bring it to all the readers’ attention. Other post-doctoral resources include:
- http://www.nationalpostdoc.org/
- http://www.phds.org/postdoc/postdoctoral-fellowships/
- http://www.minoritypostdoc.org/view/resources.html
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MIT has an excellent bank of resources at:
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Good luck!
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Dora Farkas, Ph.D. is the author “The Smart Way to Your Ph.D.:200 Secrets from 100 Graduates,” and the founder of PhDNet, an online community for graduate students and PhDs. You will find links to her book, monthly newsletters, and discussion board on her site. Send your questions to [email protected] and keep an eye out for them in an upcoming issue!
Stay tuned for the next Dear Dora in two weeks! In the meantime, check a few of Dora’s recent posts:
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Submit your questions to Dora at [email protected], or use the comment box below!
