Fellowship Downsides?

[Bayesian1701]

I have received what I am pretty sure is an internal fellowship for my first year with no required work.    I think I can TA if I want but I wouldn't have to and the fellowship is big enough for me to live on.  In the remaining years I will work as a TA or RA with relative funding security.  I would assume that 3 years of TAing would be enough for the academic job market and not working would be less stressful and give me the flexibility to work on research.    It also includes a scholarship with I think I receive in addition to a waiver for years 2-4.  It's my best financial offer so far and no work requirements seem really nice.  The first year coursework at this institution is pretty intense and I was concerned about my ability to handle it,  but if I don't have to work I would definitely be able to study enough to pass the first year exam. Is there any downside to missing a year of TA experience when I have the flexibility to work on research that is somewhat time sensitive and focus on coursework?

[FishNerd]

Honestly your set up sounds like the best of both worlds - getting that first year without any teaching responsibilities to focus on coursework and getting a good start on your research, but also still getting teaching experience later on. I would imagine 3 years of TAing would enough for future jobs as long as you get experience teaching a couple different types of courses.

[TakeruK]

Nope, sounds like you have an awesome setup! 

There are no significant downsides to fellowships. It is almost always better to get teaching experience on your own terms rather than have to rely on TAing for funding.

The one super minor downside to fellowship which I could think of is: some schools don't withhold tax from your fellowship income, which means you may have to figure out how to pay estimated quarterly taxes. But this is something that might take 10 hours of your time once, compared to the 100s of hours you might have to work as a TA or RA for funding otherwise. Well worth it. 

 

[GreenEyedTrombonist]

Make sure the fellowship comes with a tuition waiver. If it does, that sounds like a great offer!