by Guest » Sat Feb 06, 2016 5:37 pm
I've also had a good experience with my SF, although it isn't one of those you've listed. I'm a roboticist with a PhD in Mechanical Engineering and am in Phase 2 (finished degree and am now in my "payback" period). I took the money and the guaranteed research position with my SF because that was the kind of opportunity I was looking for and it had the added bonus of being close to my immediate family. I was very, very lucky. Also, I was not particularly interested in becoming a professor or a consultant or working in industry or in a startup. So it worked out for me. I did have some of the issues others have described on this forum (stipend was late, changes in insurance allocations, issues with being considered self-employed in the eyes of the IRS) and certainly I'm not making the money that other people in other sectors do. However, I do interesting work that does make a difference, I do publish journal/conference papers and have work that's in the process of being patented. So, for me, it isn't "just a steady paycheck" because I get to do meaningful research I enjoy. But realize that this is not everyone's experience. I can't speak for people at other facilities, but at my SF there is a range of satisfaction. Some of us are happy and satisfied and some aren't, and I'd guess it's probably close to 50-50. Some of the unhappy ones leave after their service commitments are up. The majority of the people at my SF who've been through SMART on the recruitment side are PhDs, so I don't know how job satisfaction compares elsewhere, and this may not be relevant to someone pursuing a bachelor's or master's degree.
So just to echo what was said earlier, if you need the money and don't have other funding, then this may work out for you. On the plus side, if you receive an offer and take it, you have a job at the end of your degree and you don't have to stress about finding one. On the minus side, you may not like that job, it may be in a part of the country where you don't want to live, it may not pay as well as those in industry, you'll likely have to deal with procedures/training/forms you find frustrating (this is the government after all), etc. This is a scholarship for service program and comes with strings attached. Seeing as how you've made the first cut, you can see what happens next and whether or not one of your preferred labs contacts you.
Good luck to you.
I've also had a good experience with my SF, although it isn't one of those you've listed. I'm a roboticist with a PhD in Mechanical Engineering and am in Phase 2 (finished degree and am now in my "payback" period). I took the money and the guaranteed research position with my SF because that was the kind of opportunity I was looking for and it had the added bonus of being close to my immediate family. I was very, very lucky. Also, I was not particularly interested in becoming a professor or a consultant or working in industry or in a startup. So it worked out for me. I did have some of the issues others have described on this forum (stipend was late, changes in insurance allocations, issues with being considered self-employed in the eyes of the IRS) and certainly I'm not making the money that other people in other sectors do. However, I do interesting work that does make a difference, I do publish journal/conference papers and have work that's in the process of being patented. So, for me, it isn't "just a steady paycheck" because I get to do meaningful research I enjoy. But realize that this is not everyone's experience. I can't speak for people at other facilities, but at my SF there is a range of satisfaction. Some of us are happy and satisfied and some aren't, and I'd guess it's probably close to 50-50. Some of the unhappy ones leave after their service commitments are up. The majority of the people at my SF who've been through SMART on the recruitment side are PhDs, so I don't know how job satisfaction compares elsewhere, and this may not be relevant to someone pursuing a bachelor's or master's degree.
So just to echo what was said earlier, if you need the money and don't have other funding, then this may work out for you. On the plus side, if you receive an offer and take it, you have a job at the end of your degree and you don't have to stress about finding one. On the minus side, you may not like that job, it may be in a part of the country where you don't want to live, it may not pay as well as those in industry, you'll likely have to deal with procedures/training/forms you find frustrating (this is the government after all), etc. This is a scholarship for service program and comes with strings attached. Seeing as how you've made the first cut, you can see what happens next and whether or not one of your preferred labs contacts you.
Good luck to you.