by M.J.P. » Wed Apr 19, 2006 11:15 am
Well it's a little too late for me to post this question, but I decide to post it anyway so perhaps others can learn from my "mistake".
I am currently finishing up a postdoc at a major university, working under a well-established and recognizable name in the field. Before I accepted the offer, I made it very clear to my advisor the nature of the project that I would like to work on, and the type of training I would like to receive that would facilitate entering the next step of my career, i.e. entering the biotech/pharma industry. I also applied and was awarded an NRSA fellowship; the work I described in my proposal would have given me the type of training I desired. However, when I first started in the group, I was assigned to a very different type of project. I didn't say anything at the time, because my advisor gave me the impression that after my first year, I would be able to work on my NIH proposal. Also, since I was trying to establish a good relationship with my advisor, I decided to do as he asked without complaining too much. Given his stature in the field, I was also a little intimidated.
As I began my second year of postdoc, it seemed less and less likely that I would be able to work on my proposal and received the kind of training that I had hoped for. The project that I've been working on does provide me with good training, but not really what I had initially asked for. I tried to talk to my advisor about possibly starting to work my proposal or related projects, but he basically said that he wasn't really interested in my proposal, and that he needs me to stay on the current project.
So basically for the last two years I ended up working on something completely different from what I set out to accomplish as a postdoc. I wouldn't call it a complete waste of time, but it certainly has been a very disappointing experience. What makes it worse is that the training I had initially asked for would have made it a little easier for me to obtain the type of position I'm currently seeking in the industry.
I apologize for writing such a long message. My question is: What should I have done before getting into this situation? Should I have talked to my funding agency about this?