Should I accept external funding

[locustfish]

Hi all, I am new to this forum, but it seems like this is the right place to ask.

I started my phd a year ago on an decent school because my advisor was kind enough to let me work on any topic I desire and provides me with RA assistantship.

I recently applied and got rewarded a scholarship that's about 16k more than my current RA salary annually until my intended graduation, but the condition is to stay with that company for 4 years afterwards. The company has pretty good future, but I won't call it a pure research company either.

What do you all think ? Should I accept the external funding or continue with the RA assistantship.

[anthropologygeek]

Take it guaranteed job and more money

[TakeruK]

I'd take it unless you have your heart set on academia/research and you are 100% sure you want to do that, and you know all the risks and hardships that comes with finding a research/academia job!

Personally, I would take it, because it's both more money and a guaranteed job after graduation. But I think the real question is why are you doing a PhD? Is it for a career in the field? If so, this sounds like a great opportunity! But if you are truly interested in doing post-docs after your PhD etc. then you would want to keep your options more open. I think you could probably still get a research position after working for this company for 4 years though but maybe others in the field can answer it better.

Congrats on the opportunity, either way, though!

[locustfish]

The reason I am doing my phd is purely just interest in a specific topic and want to go deeper into it, nothing more. I am personally not a huge fan for complex equations, so honest, I am not quite sure about academic jobs. Another thing is my school is not a top 20 school, that will make it even harder to get an academic job.

Sounds like it would be wise to take the external funding :-)

[TakeruK]

In addition, if your advisor doesn't have to pay you an RA salary anymore, they would also be pretty happy to save themselves some money! If you're lucky, that money might benefit you (more equipment, funding for travel/conferences etc.) too!

[Bimmerman]

Take it. Considerably more money AND a guaranteed job? Winner winner brazed marinated chicken filet dinner.

[lewin]

Are you all serious!? What if you change your mind in the next four years? What if you get married and your spouse gets a job somewhere else? Not to mention that committing to a company for four years gives you such little leverage in negotiating duties, salary, etc. Without knowing more, it sounds like you're signing up for indentured servitude.

I would balk at signing a cell phone contract for four years, much less a job contract. In my opinion this is a bad idea.

[TakeruK]

I guess we forgot to ask about the job with the company afterwards and the terms of employment. For example, do you know where you will be working / living or do they have many branches and you can be sent anywhere? Is there a clear job description of what you will be doing after graduation? And maybe most importantly, is there a clause for you to break the contract if you want, and if so, what is the penalty? I had assumed this was part of the contract and you are happy with it and/or decided not to share the details.

But if the job afterwards is the same as the kind of job you would be seeking after graduation anyways (which was what I also assumed) then it is a great thing. My first impression was that this was a company seeking to recruit promising PhD candidates in order to tap into their talent upon graduation. But it could be an evil company hoping to underpay you for 4 years by first giving you a bit of extra cash now!