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[mishrs]

Hello All,

I just received a postdoc fellowship from the Canadian government that gives me 2 years of funding that I can take anywhere. I did my PhD at a low-ranked Canadian institution, and so I'm of the mind that I need to get some prestige on my CV. I'll accomplish this by postdoc-ing in the US. Here are the two choices I'm considering:

(A) A flagship state public school (considered a "public ivy") with a top-20 rank in my program (psychology). I would be working with a productive advisor that I get along great with who does work very complementary to my own.

(B) A top-ranked school. Think Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, MIT. This option would fully accomplish the acquiring of prestige on my CV, but nobody jumps out at me as someone that would be great to work with in my sub-field, and I don't know anyone personally, as I do for option (A). I'd have to find a potential advisor and fit my program of research to hu's, rather than it being a natural fit as in option (A).

What should I do?

How important is productivity and a complimentary research program with a potential advisor compared to raw prestige? I already have a few publications (11 peer-reviewed, 2 book chapters, 4 under review), so I wonder if filling the prestige gap on my CV is more important than publishing more. My goal is to obtain a TT position at a Canadian institution.

Help...

S

[owlatrice]

This is a difficult question.  Most people would tell you that you should go with (A) without telling you that they secretly admire (B) candidates.  You can look at recent hires to see how a lot of them got PhDs and post-docs at the top 10-20 programs in your field. 
I went with the (A) option (turning down an offer to post-doc at Harvard), although I am in the natural sciences.  Benefits beyond the advisor have included living in a low cost of living area that in general is cheap, safe, and nice.  Cost is huge, for me all of my offers were NIH post-doc salary scale, and had no cost of living adjustments.  Your fixed-cost funding will go much much further if you stay away from Boston or the west coast.  The "public ivy" I am at doesn't have a cut-throat environment that is *pervasive* at elite universities.  For me this is great, as I am motivated on my own, but also like to feel appreciated and valued.  Others I know thrive in the cut-throat places. 

[anon99]

Check that the postdoc isn't tied to one location.  It used to be the case that NSERC postdocs were not transferable, you had to do the research at the location in the application unless there were compelling reasons.

I'd go for option A.  You already have an established relationship with this person and know the work environment.

[mishrs]

Thank you very much for the replies. I verified with NSERC that my postdoctoral fellowship is transferable to a new institution, as long as the research continues to fall under the mandate of NSERC (which is a concern in my field of psychology, given that SSHRC also provides PDFs).

Thus far in my career, I have gone to less-prestigious institutions to work with people who were a close to optimal fit as opposed to attending an institution with higher prestige, but less compatibility. It's worked out pretty well so far, but its hard to know what search committees are looking for. Which relates to a broader problem -- I have no idea of what the market conditions are like for my discipline in Canada, nor do I know what my personal value on the market is.

Anyways, I've decided to hedge my bets. I'll attend the better-fit public institution for a year, continue to publish, and apply for jobs in the relevant cycles. If I don't get any bites, I'll use the second year of my NSERC PDF to go to the most prestigious institution possible. Best of both worlds, maybe?

Thanks again for the replies
S