{"id":21985,"date":"2026-05-12T11:02:14","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T15:02:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/sponsored-programs\/?p=21985"},"modified":"2026-05-12T11:02:14","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T15:02:14","slug":"preparing-for-your-career","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/sponsored-programs\/2026\/05\/12\/preparing-for-your-career\/","title":{"rendered":"Preparing for Your CAREER"},"content":{"rendered":"

In late July, the National Science Foundation accepts applications for their Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program<\/a> \u2014 a Foundation-wide activity, encompassing all of NSF\u2019s directorates, that is meant to support junior faculty in the role of teacher-scholars. A successful
\nCAREER proposal must integrate both education and research into its Project Description and strike a balance between both, as well as meet the needs of the University.<\/p>\n

An eligible Principal Investigator (PI) must be an Assistant Professor in a fifty percent tenure-track or tenure-track-equivalent position, hold a doctoral degree in a field supported by NSF, and be untenured. If the PI\u2019s appointment should change, NSF will base the eligibility on the date the appointment becomes effective. Also, a PI cannot apply if he or she has already won a CAREER and cannot have had more than two CAREER proposals reviewed. In addition, a PI may submit only one CAREER application each year. It is also important to note that this program does not allow co-investigators. However, NSF does allow a PI to budget support for other senior personnel or consultants, but their role in the project must be limited\u2014think along the lines of someone strictly performing a service, rather than making an intellectual contribution or helping to manage the project.<\/p>\n

CAREER has a minimum five-year budget of $400,000, including indirect costs; however, the Directorate for Biological Sciences, the Directorate for Engineering, or the Office of Polar Programs require a minimum request of $500,000. NSF states that a number of programs and Directorates fund proposals that are closer to the minimum award amount in order to fund more proposals. With that in mind, proposers should discuss typical funding levels with the appropriate Program Officer, or review the list of recent awards to gauge the average award size.<\/p>\n

A CAREER submission should include all components required in NSF\u2019s Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG)<\/a>. PIs should note that the full CAREER guidelines detail sections with supplemental instructions that supersede the PAPPG. One of the most important is the Departmental Letter. The letter must be less than two pages in length and confirm the University\u2019s commitment to the professional development and mentoring of the PI. It should not read like a letter of recommendation; rather, it should state how the PI\u2019s department and the University will help his or her career development in both research and education and must indicate that he\/she is eligible for the award. The solicitation gives a list of all the elements that are required for the letter. Proposals that do not include the letter will be returned without review.<\/p>\n

CAREER Tips<\/h3>\n

Read the solicitation.<\/strong> The start of every good proposal is reading and understanding the funder\u2019s guidelines. In the case of the CAREER, NSF lays out all the requirements for a successful submission, including the necessary integration of research and education plans. The guidelines also detail specific instructions for some proposal sections that differ from what is described in the PAPPG.<\/p>\n

Contact your NSF Program Officer.<\/strong> Contacting a Program Officer (PO) is critical. They are an invaluable resource\u2014so much so that NSF publishes a list of contacts for CAREER submitters. Talk to one and find out if your proposal is appropriate for their directorate or find out if it should have a home elsewhere, and be sure to ask if your budget is competitive. Also, a PO can help you determine if the scope of your education plan is adequate for your research and our University. Don\u2019t be discouraged if you don\u2019t immediately hear from the PO you contacted since they receive many requests.<\/p>\n

Give it some time.<\/strong> Even though this is an early career award, it is not a perfect starter for new investigators. Preliminary data is a very important part of this proposal. Begin by searching for opportunities that will provide resources to accomplish this task. And when you do reach the point where you are ready to submit a CAREER application, start as early as possible with your preparation and writing\u2014this is not the type of proposal you can get out in a week. Remember: You have three tries, and many investigators are awarded on the second or third attempt.<\/p>\n

You and your long-term plans.<\/strong> In the Project Description, the PI should communicate his or her qualifications. What makes you uniquely qualified to carry out this work? Also, explain how this project relates to your overall career plan. The project represents five years, but what comes after that?<\/p>\n

Start reaching out.<\/strong> Begin with your department chair, who will need to supply the Departmental Letter that is required for the proposal. Do your goals match with those of the department? Also, even though the CAREER solicitation lists relevant literature to assist you with your education plan, you may feel that your proposal would benefit from the assistance of a faculty member in the College of Education and Engaged Learning (and make sure they provide you with a Letter of Collaboration). If you want to review an awarded proposal, contact your colleagues who have received a CAREER or contact OSP for a sample.<\/p>\n

Presentation matters.<\/strong> Since the Project Description only allows fifteen pages, many PIs feel the need to make every bit of space count. However, no one benefits from a proposal that is difficult to read\u2014the font size and one-inch margin requirements are there for a reason. Ensure that any diagrams, charts, or graphs have not been compressed so much that the text is not legible. Finally, a successful proposal should not include spelling or grammatical errors\u2014considering using a proofreader before submitting.
\nAlso, be sure not to overlook any sections required by the CAREER guidelines or the PAPPG. For example, even if you have not received prior funding from the NSF, do not skip the \u201cResults from Prior NSF Support\u201d section\u2014this is required and can easily be satisfied by a statement such as, \u201cThere are no results from prior NSF support to report.\u201d<\/p>\n

For More Information.<\/strong> For more guidance on submitting a CAREER proposal, please visit the 2022-2026 NSF CAREER Webinar and FAQ webpage<\/a>.<\/p>\n

By: Samuel Wolverton<\/em><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In late July, the National Science Foundation accepts applications for their Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program \u2014 a Foundation-wide activity, encompassing all of NSF\u2019s directorates, that is meant to support junior faculty in the role of teacher-scholars. A successful CAREER proposal must integrate both education and research into its Project Description and strike a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":235,"featured_media":21671,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21985","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pre-award","category-sponsored-programs-central"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/sponsored-programs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21985","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/sponsored-programs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/sponsored-programs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/sponsored-programs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/235"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/sponsored-programs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21985"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/sponsored-programs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21985\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21988,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/sponsored-programs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21985\/revisions\/21988"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/sponsored-programs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21671"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/sponsored-programs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21985"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/sponsored-programs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21985"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/sponsored-programs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21985"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}