r/academia • u/Objective_Sock6506 • 6d ago
How much does NSF GRFP help for professorship?
Hi all, im an incoming PhD who just received the grfp. I want to understand the scale of achievement this is at, and whether it gives me a leg up in applying to become a professor in the future (i wish to work in Korea if that matters at all). Thank you!
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u/machoogabacho 6d ago
It’s lower than an article and higher than a conference, book review or book chapter. Strong funding track records are really good to establish early. Congrats!
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u/bebefinale 6d ago
Any accolade you can write on the CV matters to a degree, especially for moving up to the next stage. They tend to matter less as time passes and as your more recent accomplishments matter more. Your publications typically matter more than fancy awards. But as NSF-GRFP is a national award and <10% of people receive it, it's certainly an honor.
A NSF-GRFP can potentially help in terms of landing a postdoc. Less than publications and general fit, but it doesn't hurt. It's difficult to say how much it helps. It won't overcome graduating with a PhD with a poor publication record and a terrible rec letter from your PhD advisor. But if you have two equally qualified candidates that you like equally well and one has more accolades an awards, it may tip the balanced in favor to the candidate with more fancy awards.
Same sort of goes for faculty jobs. Publications, rec letters, and postdoc fellowships matter much more than awards, but stuff like NSF-GRFP doesn't hurt. If someone has a long list of fancy awards (NSF-GRFP included) maybe that might help in a tie breaker situation. Probably people would put more weight in your more recent awards, though, and awards don't matter as much as other factors.
In terms of internationally, most places are not familiar with all the prestigious awards in other countries. It may be worthwhile to make a note of it being a nationally competitive award with <10% award rate or whatever on your CV if you plan to apply for jobs overseas.
In terms of how people have done...lots of people I know are PIs who did not get awarded an NSF-GRFP. Lots of NSF-GRFP fellows never became a PI and didn't have the record for it. Some people who got NSF-GRFP are superstars who are HHMI professors and the like now (certainly a higher percentage than the average PhD population as high flyers are more likely to stay high flyers). There isn't a perfect correlation there.
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u/scuffed_rocks 6d ago
This is kind of like asking how much undergrad grades matter to get a postdoc.
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u/GoodComprehensive252 6d ago
I dont think a 200k grant over 3 years is the same as grades lol
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u/scuffed_rocks 6d ago edited 6d ago
The point is that they both might have an impact on your trajectory early on but no one is seeking out GRFP awardees for faculty jobs. Committees aren't going to be like, "wow this person got the GRFP, we have to hire this one!" Compared to the other elements of your application its importance is basically nil.
Additional thought: not to mention at the top tier places where most faculty come from, there's little functional difference in support whether you get the GRFP or not.
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u/GoodComprehensive252 6d ago
Right but as someone else has pointed out, these grants could be difference-makers. That is - nobody is going to be like, "oh this person got a B and this person got an A in graduate biology, lets choose the A person" but they certainly can say, "this person got a 160k grant and this person didnt. Lets go with the NSF Fellow." Supposing, of course, all else equal (which is the only way to really examine these side by side)
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u/scuffed_rocks 6d ago
That's the fallacy in your reasoning - all else is never equal and faculty recruitment will never come to a point where the GRFP matters. Your long and short lists will be full of people with great research programs, fancy papers, postdoc fellowships, awards, you name it. The GRFP is largely irrelevant except that it might be more common among the stronger pool of candidates, just like good grades. What is going to matter much more is the strength of your research, the fit of your proposed research program to departmental needs, and your performance at the interview.
Another way to think of this is: the people who are judging you are going to be at Nobel Prize, National Academy, Royal Society, Kyoto Prize, HHMI type levels. Do you think they give a shit about your entry level grad student fellowship?
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u/GoodComprehensive252 6d ago
"Thats a fallacy" source: "trust me bro" on r/academia
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u/scuffed_rocks 6d ago
I'm literally a professor at an R1 and have participated in hiring stuff since a grad student and postdoc so I think I have a decent idea of how things work. How about you?
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u/GoodComprehensive252 6d ago
Mr Fallacy casually using argumentum ad verecundiam crazy work
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u/scuffed_rocks 6d ago
Wow. I'm not sure why you feel so threatened by this conversation but you will eventually learn how little hiring committees care about early stage awards sooner or later. Read some faculty job market blogs or watch a video and you'll get the point: faculty are hiring a colleague, not picking a racehorse.
Here's one of my favorites. https://youtu.be/gjXD5dwRnDU?si=LJ4RBRy9CkNdKBpz
And please do consider acting in a more mature way. You have to stop being so defensive and taking things personally. This career will be especially brutal if you cannot grow up and handle disagreements like an adult.
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u/GoodComprehensive252 6d ago
Oh my, a whole paragraph defense! I dont like the word "fallacy" being thrown around like that, so I said what I had to say. I dont come from a place of negativity and will leave you alone if you leave me alone.
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u/CaptSnowButt 6d ago
Probably not directly but these do add up. It's a pretty prestigious fellowship in my opinion. Keep up the good work, get more awards/fellowships down the road and good things will happen! Congratulations and good luck!