1 year RA/TA vs. 1 yr fellowship + 1 yr TA. Which one is financially more secure?

[tuschu]

So I want to minimize the uncertainty in my life, but I have these two offers. According to the first offer, I have an advisor, and he offers me a hybrid RA/TA funding scheme. On the other hand, I do not have an advisor, but the department accepted me with 1 yr. fellowship and says I will be TAing for 20hr. in my second year. I talked to a potential advisor in the second university, and he was willing to have me in his research group (mostly because I am free for two years).

 

So which one do you think is the most financially secure option? I am struggling between the security of having an advisor and being funded for two years.

[rising_star]

They're equally financially secure, assuming you like the advisors. The bigger question is which research interests you more. The fellowship + TA option has the advantage of giving you the freedom to switch labs/advisors if you don't like your initial placement since, as you put it, you're free to the advisor. The downside is that being a TA takes away from the time you'll be able to spend on your research.

[tuschu]

They're equally financially secure, assuming you like the advisors. The bigger question is which research interests you more. The fellowship + TA option has the advantage of giving you the freedom to switch labs/advisors if you don't like your initial placement since, as you put it, you're free to the advisor. The downside is that being a TA takes away from the time you'll be able to spend on your research.

 

Thank you for the reply. I wish they could guarantee funding for the duration of the PhD. But as far as I understand, these things depend on many things that affect the availability of the funds.