Grad questioning current research group

[dazedandconfusedgrad]

So I have been in this research group for a little over 2 years now. My PI is very difficult to work with: they have a very short temper, yell when you make mistakes and does not have any patience. They remember every mistake that I make and always bring up these mistakes when they are upset at me for not doing something right or not working during the holidays, etc. I told myself in the beginning that if I persisted and stayed in this group that I would come out of this experience as a stronger person, after grad school I could handle any personality (anyone will be nice compared to my current PI!) 

 

Now after almost 2 years I am questioning this decision. I don't think I am learning as much as I expected in grad school (from fear of being yelled at and my PI has no patience to teach). There are several postdocs in the group but we all have our own individual projects and none of them really overlap so I can't really ask any of them for help. I received the NSF GRFP and this will begin next summer. I want to ask how terrible is it for me to leave this current group for another group that I am more interested in? Is this even possible to do and if so is there any one out there with any experience in changing research groups with a similar type of fellowship? I would only leave this group for another if I could use my NSF fellowship money for research with another group. The NSF fellowship I received is based upon doing research in my current group and my current PI wrote one of my recommendation letters.

I feel terrible for leaving but I think I will feel even worse if I stay. I don't think I can handle the stress of being yelled at constantly and am quickly losing motivation for my current research. 

 

Any recommendations on leaving current groups or dealing with fussy PIs are greatly appreciated!

[TakeruK]

I would definitely look into changing your research group. Having outside funding can really help you get into a new group since otherwise you might represent a large unexpected extra cost! 

 

I think a good first step is to talk to the "Director of Graduate Studies" or some similar position in the your department -- basically the faculty member responsible for graduate students in general. They can help you figure out the best route to go and also be an advocate in your best interests. Also, you should read more carefully into the NSF rules for changing projects. In Canada, the NSERC is the equivalent for the NSF and the rule for changing projects is that they don't really care as long as you stay in the same field and you have approval from your own school. That is, you can't apply for a grant in Biology and then use it to do Astronomy! I'm not saying NSERC = NSF, but just saying that there are other national agencies that allow it, so it's worth the time to check if NSF would too.