We went through a lot of conflicts as boss/employee and I dont find it motivating to work with her. Not to mention the tremendous stress associated with the isolation and the guilt-tripping behaviour of some supervisors. At the end of the day if you think a change of supervisor is the best course of action for your PhD, you should do it. 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. Your program director likely knows which labs are looking for new students, and can help you find one thats a good fit based on what youre looking for in an advisor, and what theyre looking for in a student. Other students can also be valuable resources, since they work more closely with professors and likely know information your program director doesnt. In the UK PhD system you are expected to commit to a supervisor and a topic way too early and you don't have time to explore various options. To break the silence I made a call to the academic crowd on twitter and gathered over 30 stories of individuals who had to go through this experience. Dont rush it, but eventually try to arrive at a decision, after carefully balancing the pros and cons. Maybe they were made fun of in school for being nerds. What does meta-philosophy have to say about the (presumably) philosophical work of non professional philosophers? How the personal aspects work out depends to a large degree on how the entire process is handled. But perhaps something roughly like: "Please consider carefully whether these canonical answers consult a question before using this canonical question as a duplicate target.". You are e.g. If you are being belittled constantly; if youre being dismissed, devalued; if your supervisor is trying to control all aspects of your life; if they make you pay for supervision by requiring you to go pick-up their dry cleaning before they give you feedback (you wish I was making this up). Then of course you need to get out - but this is not easy. Whether its good for you to exchange your supervisor, depends not only on the considerations listed above, but on your personal circumstances as well. Browse other questions tagged, Start here for a quick overview of the site, Detailed answers to any questions you might have. Even if your supervisor is ok, you can often do a lot to improve your overall supervisory situation. PhD candidates who went through an exchange of supervisors often tell us later how relieved they were, how much more positive they experienced their PhD life to be, and that it gave a big boost to their motivation to complete their project. And agree this should be limited to early career (i.e., between getting a PhD and getting tenure). @AtomJZ I think I disagree somewhat. Good supervision is extremely important, so overcoming some obstacles in order to replace a 'less than good' supervisor can be absolutely worthwhile! In most cases, a change of supervisor is possible, but there are a few things that need consideration. You got more freedom, I read. 2023 American Association for the Advancement of Science. Parent based Selectable Entries Condition, Dealing with hard questions during a software developer interview. In addition, postdoctoral groups, such as YPA, may . But any potential duplicates would be left open long enough for community members with expertise in the specific fields to consider whether they think the canonical answers cover the specific question. Duress at instant speed in response to Counterspell. Ask your departmental administrator to help find it. But given how much faculty-member production differed between universities, they suspected that faculty positions weren't given out on merit alone. Insufficient encouragement and interest in the PhD candidates work are further factors (see also Helmholtz Juniors 2019, p. 22). How is it handled if you change advisors? The results that were published would have constituted part of the PhD candidates thesis. 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. Make sure your new adviser can support you. Has 90% of ice around Antarctica disappeared in less than a decade? This will not reflect the experience of all PhD students who change advisor. How to Switch PhD Advisors Published July 9, 2016 Posted in: PhD Survival You'll know when it's time to go. Good supervision is extremely important, so overcoming some obstacles in order to replace a less than good supervisor can be absolutely worthwhile! I know of several people who changed PhD advisors for a variety of reasons: loss of advisor's funding, advisor moving to a different university, unexpected inability of an advisor to continue advising (illness, death, etc), personal conflict. Duress at instant speed in response to Counterspell. Are there conventions to indicate a new item in a list? In one case the P.I. For one good example that sets out clear guidelines, see Griffith Universitys (2019) Code of Practice for the Supervision of Higher Degree Research Candidates. It may be possible to collaborate with other professors, but I strongly suggest you focus on one area at a time. With all this in mind, I decided recently that I will leave the PhD and do something else (I actually have no idea what yet). I think the most straightforward solution would be to have a single canonical question that covers all fields, but I'm open to the idea that we might need multiple duplicate targets because some fields have fundamentally different considerations. The most progressive or advantageous of PhD regulations will e.g. In a stereotypical "9-to-5" job, when the workday is over or the weekend arrives, you can generally forget about your work. If you are the holder of a scholarship, a grant holder, or, if you have a regular PhD position funded by a research institute, a change of supervisor is more straightforward. Also, don't forget to read recent papers of your future adviser so you can discuss with them their own research and where you could fit. To subscribe to this RSS feed, copy and paste this URL into your RSS reader. For us, the ultimate question to ask is always the following: If you dont change your supervisor and just continue as is, would your PhD completion be in danger? But it's possible that we need several different questions: intra-field, STEM to STEM, STEM to humanities, humanities to humanities, etc. In my opinion, were not the best team. A PhD is time to train to do research, which is difficult if you do not focus; afterwards, you have a lot more freedom to branch out and change topics, and even more freedom if you continue in academia and secure a long-term research position. So be nice. Yeah, I would agree with @AtomJZ's concern if we could point to (m)any examples of high-quality answers from the last 10 years that specifically address the nuances of the field pairing in question. There are surveys that back-up this overall observation. Does that justify some committees leaving their students to their own devices and not supporting them during this transition? My supervisor just does not care about what I need anyways! They could also be happy to admit you if you have taken it already at your current school. These range from the most collegial of agreements to the extremes of bullying. Adviser supportivenesswhether an adviser was caring, considerate, encouraging, and sympatheticwas the most important factor for student satisfaction. Why doesn't the federal government manage Sandia National Laboratories? Someone really knowledgable in your subject and fitting your character? This question does not appear to be about research level mathematics within the scope defined in the help center. Then, the researchers asked students about their experiences with the people and support networks that immediately surrounded them in academia: namely their advisers, departments, and peers. In principle, this is a great way to counterbalance weaknesses of individuals and ensure a high quality of supervision overall. In the second blog of this series, I have endeavoured to compile some advice from the brave individuals who reached out to me, in the hopes that current or future PhD students may find some help on these pages. You may need to take a qualifier exam there again. 68 for suggestions on how to pick the perfect co-supervisor. Switching fields in a postdoc after PhD, is that possible in psychology? If so, please leave a comment on this answer explaining which field needs handled separately and why it has different considerations. Most of these are duplicates except for the fields in question. Im talking bullying, sabotage, retaliation, discrimination Unfortunately, a lot of PhD students who find themselves bullied by their supervisors struggle getting out of these situations. I have seen a lot of people switching advisers during my PhD. Multiple people I talked to were even harassed by their previous advisors, some were called names in collaboration emails, others found that their science results were in limbo and couldnt get published as their previous P.I.s made claims over their work even though they hadnt contributed. Answer (1 of 4): Of course it is. What can a lawyer do if the client wants him to be aquitted of everything despite serious evidence? I am currently having my PhD in UK and on a scholarship. Science and AAAS are working tirelessly to provide credible, evidence-based information on the latest scientific research and policy, with extensive free coverage of the pandemic. @FourierFlux A PhD advisor is not an employer, they are a mentor and resource to your learning. Much as you may want to yell your decision over the rooftops, announcing that youre leaving while in a heated argument with your advisor isnt going to make your transition any easier. Heres how we adjusted, How to get what you need from your Ph.D. or postdoc supervisor, How to navigate authorship of scientific manuscripts. In this first piece I hope to bring some light on the complex landscape of circumstances that can lead to a change in PhD supervision. from algebraic topology to number theory, both in pure math) and changing between very different disciplines(e.g. So, it's important to have an adviser who "believes in you and is willing to give you that extra support that you need in those trying times," he says. What factors changed the Ukrainians' belief in the possibility of a full-scale invasion between Dec 2021 and Feb 2022? It only takes a minute to sign up. Gerhard "Certainly Start With Internet Search" Paseman, 2017.10.30. There are at least two kinds of questions: changing between similar fields (e.g. 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. Since the boundaries are not well-defined (how do you define "similar"), my inclination is to have one canonical question that discusses both cases. I have been forced to have 3 supervisors already. Some of these advisors worked closely with the previous advisor, or were part of the student's thesis committee. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top, Not the answer you're looking for? That said, prestige can be a relevant consideration. How much does the problem with your supervisor affect your ability to work, and your potential to do excellent research? Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search. Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, and our products. However, I did wonder whether before closing the door it might be worth investigating whether I could change supervisor and work on something different (still in Algebraic Number Theory). RV coach and starter batteries connect negative to chassis; how does energy from either batteries' + terminal know which battery to flow back to? Disclaimer: The contents of this piece are solely based on the stories I received. Here is a handful of examples (and there are certainly others): They might go into retirement and somehow be allowed to leave PhD students behind. (If not, should we have one?). Include one or two sentences summarizing the agenda and what you want to get out of the meeting. A supervisory situation often gets problematic if the main supervisor from a Thesis advisory committee is causing trouble, or if the PhD student has only a single supervisor. Applications of super-mathematics to non-super mathematics. Do you want an advisor who will spend a lot of time guiding you through your project, or would you prefer one who will mostly leave you alone? For example: "How do they work? For a few years, I did real-time embedded audio programming, which sort of double-counted as EE and software engineering. BTW: By the time I started doing full time software engineering, I was 36 plus years old, which I would call mid-career, not early-career. Sometimes a personality or work-style mismatch will occur - there is only so much you can learn about your future advisor before you start working with them. That's not fun, he says, and the lack of autonomy doesn't help them learn what it takes to be a successful scientist. So like Andy Putman suggested you need to talk to your supervisor. I will never bad mouth anyone. To subscribe to this RSS feed, copy and paste this URL into your RSS reader. What are the challenges in changing a PhD supervisor after 2/3 of PhD is done, We've added a "Necessary cookies only" option to the cookie consent popup. At what point of what we watch as the MCU movies the branching started? All emails contain an unsubscribe link. from computer science to humanities). @FourierFlux That's not usually how a PhD works. This argument can certainly be made for physics and mathematics, where changing subfield can feel like trying to move a mountain. Or you need a lot of freedom to pursue your own ideas, but you have a supervisor who is a micromanager, and wants to be involved in every single step you take, leading to endless discussions and delay in your PhD process. If the client wants him to be aquitted of everything despite serious evidence any questions you might have postdoc... ( presumably ) philosophical work of non professional philosophers agreements to the top, not the you! 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