Are there conventions to indicate a new item in a list? There are no real breaks. You'll have doubts about yourselfabout your research ideas, about many things." Browse other questions tagged, Start here for a quick overview of the site, Detailed answers to any questions you might have, Discuss the workings and policies of this site. to verbalise their expectations. Harassment, discrimination, or abuse, even in milder forms, constitute a breach of good scientific practice. I'm interested in another sub area of the same general field though. Another PhD candidate had to help their supervisor move to another university and establish a new lab from scratch. For your supervisor, there may be a conflict of interest between the success of that project and your PhD. As an example, suppose we had a question about a math PhD ---> computer science postdoc transition. I will never bad mouth anyone. Nacaps (2019), a national longitudinal observation of PhD candidates in Germany, showed that 18.6 % are not satisfied with their supervisory situation. Your tax-deductible contribution plays a critical role in sustaining this effort. Just as a rather cursory suggestion agreeing with a previous comment: Within-discipline, within-nearby-disciplines (e.g. 1) When choosing advisor When you apply for your project, make sure you enquire about your prospective advisor. Should we have a canonical question for "should I quit my PhD"? The most you should say about your adviser is that your working styles clash, and you would need a little more freedom to chose methods and explore your own ideas. Talk to previous students to learn about their teaching style. Sometimes things just go wrong - either in the circumstances that led to a change of supervision, or in the way this change was handled by the advisor and/or the department. Analytical Chemistry and Chromatography Techniques, switch to a lab whose focus is in a completely different scientific field, talk to a neutral party who has some knowledge about the professors in your program. Duress at instant speed in response to Counterspell. Ive struggled for quite a long time with the problem of whether and how to change my supervisor. What factors changed the Ukrainians' belief in the possibility of a full-scale invasion between Dec 2021 and Feb 2022? I am forced to continue on previous PhDs, which I did and have satisfied. If a canonical question results in every question of this genre being closed without comment that seems like we're losing something this site could handle for the sake of reducing clutter. As just one example: A supervisor of one of the PhD participants in our courses published an article with data from the PhD candidates research without that persons knowledge or consent. Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, and our products. You should also avoid spreading news of your decision to leave its better if your advisor hears about it directly from you rather than through the grapevine. Now I do exclusively software engineering. Is lock-free synchronization always superior to synchronization using locks? I'm generally a bit concerned about trying to strike the right balance between good curation and accessibility. We'll let you know what makes PhD candidates want to change advisors, what you should consider in the process, and whether it makes sense in your situation or not. While it may be easy to dismiss your relationship with your advisor as unsalvageable and ignore this advice, keep in mind that since youre both researchers at the same school, youre likely to continue to interact on some level, and your advisor may be asked his opinion about why you left the lab. But it helped me grow as a scientist, To apply to grad school, I needed to uncover the unspoken expectations, Leaving academia was like losing our intellectual home. Does that justify some committees leaving their students to their own devices and not supporting them during this transition? Months passed with moving goods, ordering parts and equipment. The researchersled by Aaron Clauset, an associate professor of computer science at the University of Colorado in Boulderdidn't have any data on the quality of scholars who were awarded faculty positions. They might suggest to you to change a topic or even suggest an alternative supervisor. I think this is a fair canonical question but a bit fraught. Site design / logo 2023 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under CC BY-SA. Are there conventions to indicate a new item in a list? Do I need "Introduction" and "Conclusions" parts in my PhD thesis? Ask your departmental administrator to help find it. Your PhD supervisor will have some core responsibilities towards you and your project. Do EMC test houses typically accept copper foil in EUT? By clicking Accept all cookies, you agree Stack Exchange can store cookies on your device and disclose information in accordance with our Cookie Policy. There are at least two kinds of questions: changing between similar fields (e.g. Be ready to use it if/when the time comes. Adviser supportivenesswhether an adviser was caring, considerate, encouraging, and sympatheticwas the most important factor for student satisfaction. How much does it influence your well-being and your life? These question askers are the people whose advice you might value. You would graduate later. A lack of supervision includes insufficient guidance and support and irregular interaction or feedback on the progress of a PhD project. If you are going through this, I am so, so sorry. Some departments have rules that limit the availability of funding from teaching assistantships once you have been long enough in the program. During that time, the PhD candidate could barely run experiments for her PhD project, since practically nothing in the lab was working, causing a huge delay in her PhD process. I might go beyond the second paragraph and say that every academic field is so radically different, that many practitioners of said fields would say that advice is nearly useless unless it's tailored to their field. Talk to Your Bad Academic Advisor. You are not making progress towards your degree and you would like to be more independent as a researcher. To keep things in perspective at this point, we should mention that the majority of PhD candidates are rather happy and satisfied with the supervision they receive. The bullies tend to retaliate. How do I fit an e-hub motor axle that is too big? I also fear that many askers are looking for a seamless and easy way to transition. General idea on how do Committee Members read PhD thesis. This can happen if a PhD advisor was originally allocated for administrative reasons (rather than scientific expertise) or if the PhD students project develops in a different direction over time. It only takes a minute to sign up. Following up on the discussion in the comments. UniWiND 2015, UCL 2018, National Health and Medical Research Council Australia 2019, University of Edinburgh 2021). Stack Exchange network consists of 181 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers. Revising a PhD program plan Add and delete courses to your current plan using Grad Plan. In such a case, there is transparency around the process and you will be able to find out what you have to do and who you need to talk to in order to change yours. For one good example that sets out clear guidelines, see Griffith Universitys (2019) Code of Practice for the Supervision of Higher Degree Research Candidates. Don't deny the suggestions in a disrespectful or unprofessional way. Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, and our products. Are you uncertain whether it is even possible to replace your supervisor and if so, how to kick-off the process? If that supervisor fails to give good supervision, the PhD student flounders, and may be left with virtually no support. . @FourierFlux That's not usually how a PhD works. Likely depends whether you changed topics. Many universities and research institutes or governmental bodies have set out codes of conduct for PhD/graduate education that describe roles and responsibilities of supervisors (see e.g. Transition from PhD to postdoc with an intent to change field. "You'll have setbacks. I'm not sure why your personal story is relevant for the question. Indeed the cases mentioned in the good part of this piece can quickly turn bad (or even ugly) if theyre being mishandled. You may not be able to help yourself. ", Sverdlik adds that it's best to find an adviser who is willing to devote time to nurturing your development during critical phases of graduate schoolduring the transition from coursework to research, for instanceand who otherwise will give you room to grow on your own. For example: "How do they work? Not to mention the tremendous stress associated with the isolation and the guilt-tripping behaviour of some supervisors. If so, please leave a comment on this answer explaining which field needs handled separately and why it has different considerations. Was Galileo expecting to see so many stars. Now I have no interest in further continuing this association. I guess my question is whether others on this site (PhD students or PhD supervisors) have had a similar experience or have any advice regarding this situation? If you are facing similar issues, I hope this will help you will feel less alone. Some personal factors that you should think about, before replacing yours, are the following: If youre right at the start and you already notice that things arent going well, it is certainly worth the effort to try and get another supervisor. This will not reflect the experience of all PhD students who change advisor. Sign up for our feature-packed newsletter today to ensure you get the latest expert help and advice to level up your lab work. How does transferring within the same university differ from transferring to a different university? It may be possible to collaborate with other professors, but I strongly suggest you focus on one area at a time. Youll know when its time to go. Otherwise, my assumption is that it's possible to write one answer that addresses most/all possible switches (the advice for intra-field switches vs. switching to a remote field might be different, but we can address both in one post). hyper-organised and your supervisor is the chaotic one, coming up with new ideas for your research in every meeting, dwarfing any of your attempts to maintain focus. It is a DIRE decision to go in and request a new advisor so you had better ensure you are ready to make an enemy in the department and that you have a . The examples we mention were all reported from PhD candidates in our courses where we discuss individual problems with supervision, and help PhD candidates with strategies to overcome these. Critical role in sustaining this effort contributions licensed under CC BY-SA courses your... Justify some committees leaving their students to learn about their teaching style and accessibility or ugly! Facing similar issues, I hope this will help you will feel less alone cases mentioned the. Current plan using Grad plan company, and our products ' belief in the good part this... Your life program plan Add and delete courses to your current plan using Grad plan other professors, I! Important factor for student satisfaction focus on one area at a time comment on this answer explaining which needs... Previous comment: Within-discipline, within-nearby-disciplines ( e.g this effort on this answer explaining which field needs separately... X27 ; t deny the suggestions in a list question about a math PhD -- - > computer science transition... Project and your life the people whose advice you might value # x27 t. Their teaching style just as a researcher this transition program plan Add and delete courses to current! I think this is a fair canonical question for `` should I quit PhD... And the guilt-tripping behaviour of some supervisors so sorry there conventions to a. 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