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[mat2011]

I need some advice. I am on the verge of quitting my second postdoc in the space of one year! I received a PhD from a prestigious university and I did relatively well publication wise (8 first author articles, all high impact factor). My relationship with my PhD adviser was unfortunately not rosy especially since my first publication. I tried to be nice, worked very hard but things got worse to the point where I had to go for counselling at the university. Unfortunately, the counsellor was enraged and asked her office to talk to my adviser which made the work environment better. Towards the end of my PhD, I told my adviser I wanted to do a postdoc and I got offers from labs X and Y. The PI at lab X said he had funding enough for 9 months and asked me to apply for a fellowship to cover me for 2 years. My PhD adviser discouraged me from joining lab X and instead encouraged me to join a PI at lab Y whom I agreed to join as I thought this would make things better between us since I had his blessing. Lab Y appeared okay at first, however, I discovered that my PhD adviser had told the PI at lab Y that I wanted to join lab X and this did not go down well with him. Whenever we met to discuss my research, he would bring up PI X’s name. I told myself this will pass with time but alas it didn’t. He didn’t respect me at all and the treatment I got was just meant for me to leave. I worked hard and got good results in a short space of time but that did not change things. Luckily, I had proceeded to apply for the fellowship to join lab X before going to lab Y and the fellowship came through. I asked the PI at lab X if it was okay to have me in his lab and he said it was fine. However, I have since learnt my new PI does not want me here anymore because my PhD adviser said bad things about me (some PhD students have told me and his actions confirm it). My research is going on very well but knowing I am unwanted here is just demoralising.
Should I tough it out to avoid having a CV which looks like that of a job hopper (more than a year remains on the fellowship!)? Can I transfer my fellowship and be able to make a fresh start elsewhere without the interference of my former PIs?  Should I just quit and forget about postdocs completely then go find something else. If I go for this third option what are my chances of ever getting a job anyway considering all 3 PIs are bound to give me bad references? Can I apply for jobs without my PhD adviser’s reference and can I exclude these last two?

[scampster]

Can I apply for jobs without my PhD adviser’s reference and can I exclude these last two?

It sounds like you are in a tough bind. I don't know how to give you advice, but I can say that I doubt you would be able to apply for jobs without references from your PhD advisor and two postdoc advisors. Are there other people in your field who would serve as references for you?

[aprilmay]

Sorry you are having difficulties. Let me just say that the idea that someone would hire a postdoc and then immediately try to make them leave, with no poor behavior on the part of the postdoc, does not happen. Either your PhD advisor did not make negative comments about you to Lab Y's PI, or that PI disregarded them and hired you anyway. They wouldn't do this and then try to make you leave. If the issue was really your current postdoc advisor thinking you initially wanted another lab, I don't see the big deal. Postdocs often consider multiple offers, especially good ones, and you clearly picked Lab Y. Also, if this was the case, you could just talk to Lab Y's PI and clear up the confusion. Something else is going on here. Do either the PhD advisor or your current postdoc advisor have problems with other students/postdocs?

Can I transfer my fellowship and be able to make a fresh start elsewhere without the interference of my former PIs?  Should I just quit and forget about postdocs completely then go find something else. If I go for this third option what are my chances of ever getting a job anyway considering all 3 PIs are bound to give me bad references? Can I apply for jobs without my PhD adviser’s reference and can I exclude these last two?

Going to another job in academia without the support of your current postdoc advisor, and ideally your phd advisor, is going to be rough. You will need them as references. Are you able to give us more specifics about what is happening to you in Lab Y? Have you talked to your current postdoc advisor about things? Good luck.

[cranefly]

You need to stay put and prove yourself an asset at your new place, wanted or not. Your PhD advisor is going to make your academic life hell unless you can build a new reputation for yourself. That means, starting now.

Have a good talk with your current PI, explain how you feel, ask what you can do to make yourself valuable to the team, and start doing some stellar work there.

[anon99]

So you currently have a fellowship to move from LabY (your first postdoc) and work in LabX which is where you originally wanted to go?  I'd say go for it.  Not all students or postdocs work out for various reasons.  Before you do that, make sure you can transfer your fellowship.