Has Microsoft lowered its Windows 11 eligibility criteria? I wish you the best of luck and hope that you dont fall into the next category. . Physics PhD switching fields after short career break? 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. Or bullied by their own advisors. Why are non-Western countries siding with China in the UN? Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, and our products. Good supervision is extremely important, so overcoming some obstacles in order to replace a less than good supervisor can be absolutely worthwhile! Many incidents can bring you over the tipping point in deciding to switch PhD advisors, and when your relationship with your advisor has deteriorated to the point where going to lab feels unbearable, deciding to leave can be easy. Strange behavior of tikz-cd with remember picture. This is not because I am "stuck" - I am not really at a point where I have been able to engage enough with the work to even become stuck. 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. Changing PhD supervisor 18 months into 4 year PhD [closed]. Is there a more recent similar source? Some universities or graduate schools have formal proceedings for an exchange of supervisors anchored in their PhD regulations (or elsewhere) which are publicly available. If you are a student in an abusive situation, now is not the time for activism; you cannot solve the systematic problems of academia by yourself, especially when you are in a vulnerable position. Site design / logo 2023 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under CC BY-SA. But if that's the only thing you take into consideration, you could wind up having a terrible experience in graduate school. 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. Practical aspects -- how to change subfields between PhD and postdoc? It depends on his relationship to his colleagues and position within the department if he can make good of his threats. In addition, postdoctoral groups, such as YPA, may . A reasonable PhD advisor wants their students to enjoy the subfield they are working in and will be happy to either suggest alternate directions or arrange a change of advisor if necessary. I think this is a fair canonical question but a bit fraught. But don't think that such a calling is necessarily tied to a career in academia, because I think that this is increasingly not the case, and probably never really was. At what point of what we watch as the MCU movies the branching started? Do you want to successfully complete your PhD? Site design / logo 2023 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under CC BY-SA. You will need to change your committee (and your advisor) in GradPlan if you have an accepted program plan. Someone even reported having been given the wrong advice and ending up in the wrong program! Below, weve listed some illustrative examples which highlight typical reasons you may want to replace your supervisor. as in example? So my two other supervisors are yes men and working under him to further their careers. There are plenty of reasons why a PhD student wants or has to exchange an advisor. Instead, wait until youve figured out your next steps in transitioning out of the lab and are ready to speak to your advisor in a calm, respectful manner. Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search. Once youve begun taking steps to find a new advisor, break the news to your current advisor. Even if it is, labs that do similar work tend to be in close proximity to one another maybe even on the same floor of the same building and are more likely to collaborate. How to: Change of research field after thesis. Is variance swap long volatility of volatility? You can ask for a 10 minutes appointment via email if they seem to be busy, but in my department, I used to just walk into professors offices. Also Helfer et al. That's not fun, he says, and the lack of autonomy doesn't help them learn what it takes to be a successful scientist. Now you have get to get your passion back. Ive struggled for quite a long time with the problem of whether and how to change my supervisor. This will be released on the 15th of November. This would be a much better question if you deleted the entire enumerated list, which is largely irrelevant for the question asked in the title. Learn how your comment data is processed. No. Many Higher Education Institutions, funding agencies, or governmental bodies have developed codes of good scientific practice (see e.g. Any related idea which goes against the "vision" of my supervisor is dealt with fierce questions. My suggestion: Yes, but with some type of PSA in the question regarding how to use it as a duplicate target. Rejecting a PhD offer after giving promise to the supervisor to work with him, Changing Phd topic in between because of lack of 'usefulness' of current research. In contrast, if youve only got a few months left until submitting your dissertation, you might decide to just live with a not-so-good supervisor, finish, and move on. In some labs, graduate students are "treated like laborlike robots in a factoryrather than independent scientists," he says. Because we know that problems with a supervisor are tricky to handle for PhD candidates, we want to give L., and everyone else who is in a similar situation, our advice. "They are just told to do some experiment and they have to stay in the lab day and night, 24/7." Are we going to have one CW to cover it all, or separate question to cover them in less general sense (a tough question here, how to separate them? All I do is push myself because I need to graduate. (If not, should we have one?). As long as a canonical question handles those without the community becoming overzealous on closing unhandled questions, the canonical question seems like a decent cost/benefit tradeoff. Site design / logo 2023 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under CC BY-SA. My major concern about whether this is advisable is more about how our community will make use of the duplicate target. But unfortunately, this is the reality that some students may face. Some PhD students were simply left to their own devices without proper supervision. You may need to take a qualifier exam there again. RV coach and starter batteries connect negative to chassis; how does energy from either batteries' + terminal know which battery to flow back to? Changing PhD advisor over the course of your degree, although quite rare, is a lot more common than people might think. My supervisor is cunning. See our blog post no. 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. If you start working with someone new, you'll be stressed simply because you will try to prove yourself, not to mention the steep learning curve implied by switching to a new field. Take note of the topics you should follow up on, and their . The results that were published would have constituted part of the PhD candidates thesis. Is just after your PhD a good time to switch your research area? Getting a Ph.D. is "a very stressful, long process," says Gerard Dericks, a senior lecturer at Oxford Brookes University in the United Kingdom and the lead author of the study. Another student had just switched because of the same reason and therefore my current supervisors had to change their attitude as this became a recurring phenomenon. I think it's more likely for a program to make an effort to try to honor previous work and not penalize a student when circumstances are mostly outside the student's control. In my experience, she is not of the understanding or empathetic kind, but rather resentful. Youll know when its time to go. How can I make this regulator output 2.8 V or 1.5 V? How much does the problem with your supervisor affect your ability to work, and your potential to do excellent research? Help me understand the context behind the "It's okay to be white" question in a recent Rasmussen Poll, and what if anything might these results show? Site design / logo 2023 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under CC BY-SA. 10: Good PhD-supervision, we discuss 5 pillars of great supervision and describe what you can expect from a good supervisor. Strange behavior of tikz-cd with remember picture. How can the mass of an unstable composite particle become complex? I have seen a lot of people switching advisers during my PhD. Advisers may want to publish as many papers as possible so that they can win more grants and move their research programs forward. If this field-specific advice already exists in an answer somewhere, please link to it. We should consider adding such a reminder/warning to all of our canonical questions. 68 for suggestions on how to pick the perfect co-supervisor. 1. Help News from Science publish trustworthy, high-impact stories about research and the people who shape it. Now I do exclusively software engineering. Are you willing to switch to a lab whose focus is in a completely different scientific field, with a whole new set of techniques to learn, or would you prefer to go somewhere you can do similar work to your current lab? You should also try to think about options, preferably some area where you can still use some of the knowledge you have already acquired. A complication here is that changing for disinterest in the doctoral field is quite different from forced changes due to economic factors (as I had to do). 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. (1) This is a fair observation. So if you are cut out for some sort of mathematics, I reckon it will come to you in time. 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. Like any workplace, scientific institutions are not free from misbehaviour from (in this case) superiors. The area in which I work is also quite small in the sense that very few (in fact, only one that is comprehensive - as far as I am aware) textbooks have been written on the basics and even my supervisor admits that these few books are exceedingly dry. You seem to be already burnt out. If I recall, Timothy Gowers wrote a year or so ago that mathematics is a calling. Does this require a replacement of your main supervisor? I have been forced to have 3 supervisors already. If youre interested in benefiting from our support as well, check out the PhD success Lab. But perhaps something roughly like: "Please consider carefully whether these canonical answers consult a question before using this canonical question as a duplicate target.". If you are going through this, I am so, so sorry. And if I still do not like my environment it is possible to switch and school will help. A clear sign of a lack of supervision is if one does not have regular meetings with a PhD supervisor (e.g. Should we have a canonical question for "should I quit my PhD"? Are you experiencing problems with your PhD supervisor? I wouldn't mind using the same advisor but if they aren't interested in my interests I see nothing wrong with switching. They may become overwhelmed with too many PhD students. Be part of an amazing group of academics from all over the world! even helped the student find a new advisor! This is not novel or ground breaking but it is good to keep repeating it. There are many reasons why t. I can say this because I have interacted with very good and humble professors from top universities and seen the depth in their knowledge. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. He seems to have had a chat with my supervisor and suddenly I am offered more freedom. 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. Your well-being comes first. Your tax-deductible contribution plays a critical role in sustaining this effort. Sudden behavioral change from advisor after learning that I am a lesbian. Question about changing university policy. I struggled in the first year of a PhD in computer science but I succeeded at the end and gained a scholarship. These extreme cases damage careers, they damage lives. @AtomJZ I think I disagree somewhat. Research team didn't take internship announcement well. How this would apply to various other people would be dependent on their interests, but it shows that it can be done, and to that extent, is a 'positive story'. Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, and our products. Stack Exchange network consists of 181 Q&A communities including Stack . This will be the beginning of a new phase in your grad school career, and the people skills youve learned will be useful wherever you go next. - Bryan Krause Jul 21, 2020 at 0:50 But as it is, we are not generating those types of answers; we provide only the same general advice over and over (is my impression, at least). But after graduation, researchers who were advised by professors who weren't so hands-on went on to be more productive. Update: A candidate for this canonical question now exists here. My main supervisor only accepts those ppl under his wing who are yes men. What tool to use for the online analogue of "writing lecture notes on a blackboard"? Do they check up on you a couple times a week, or do they give you a task and they're OK not hearing from you until you complete it?" I think you should speak to your advisor. Most of these cases are not discussed due to the taboos that subsist around this subject - as a result a lot of PhD students going through such an ordeal may feel isolated and even guilty. Also, there are still PhD candidates who pursue individual projects and have only a single supervisor, which increases the dependency on that one person. That is one of the topics to discuss here. Dot product of vector with camera's local positive x-axis? Stack Exchange network consists of 181 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, . I need to either quit my Ph.D. or look for another supervisor. It's also important to figure out whether your working style is compatible with your prospective adviser's style, says Anna Sverdlik, a psychology postdoc at the University of Quebec in Montreal, Canada, who studies conditions that promote the success and well-being of Ph.D. students, and co-authored a review article on the topic published in September 2018. ; if this is the case, the right thing to do is probably to merge some of the existing questions so that we have clear duplicate targets going forward. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Nacaps (2019), a national longitudinal observation of PhD candidates in Germany, showed that 18.6 % are not satisfied with their supervisory situation. I'm considering how difficult it would be to finish up this project and then move onto another advisor if mine isn't interested in working on this other area. Are there conventions to indicate a new item in a list? Like in the above example, many PhD candidates are afraid of the conflict that will occur once they speak up, and the damage this might do to the reputation of their supervisor. It only takes a minute to sign up. Violation of these commonly accepted principles often constitutes a reason for a change of supervisor. Can you keep the parts of the thesis you have completed? @FourierFlux A PhD advisor is not an employer, they are a mentor and resource to your learning. Gerhard "Certainly Start With Internet Search" Paseman, 2017.10.30. Research topics restricted to students at top universities? Can I switch fields?, How do I switch fields?, Is it a good idea to switch fields?, When to switch fields?, or all of these? I don't know of any examples where someone transferred from one university to another and used prior work towards a thesis, but transfers between universities are rare for PhDs in general. Adopt the art of " principled negotiation ," which is composed of four steps: 1) separating the problem from the person; 2) focusing on interests, rather than on positions; 3) creating options that allow for mutual gains; and 4) using objective criteria. Answer (1 of 4): Of course it is. Advising offices have different processes for changing advisors. Some departments have rules that limit the availability of funding from teaching assistantships once you have been long enough in the program. @FourierFlux Based on your history of questions, I suspect you don't really care what people think so I don't know why you keep asking here. But the latest research on the topic points to things to look for when making a decision, as well as pitfalls to avoid. 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? Other students can also be valuable resources, since they work more closely with professors and likely know information your program director doesnt. Maybe they were made fun of in school for being nerds. In the event that your PhD is financed by a third party funded project of your supervisor, or they are in any other way financing your PhD, a change might be tricky. 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. Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, and our products. This set of guidelines meant primarily for those leaving due to conflicts with their advisors can help you in transitioning out of your old lab and into a new one. Is there a canonical answer about selecting a journal for publication? So be nice. Prospective students will differ in their specific preferences, but overall, it's probably best to find a balance and avoid overly hands-on and overly hands-off advisers. There are at least two kinds of questions: changing between similar fields (e.g. like the question (What does it mean by first author?). Are you uncertain whether it is even possible to replace your supervisor and if so, how to kick-off the process? You are not making progress towards your degree and you would like to be more independent as a researcher. By clicking Accept all cookies, you agree Stack Exchange can store cookies on your device and disclose information in accordance with our Cookie Policy. rev2023.3.1.43269. Are there conventions to indicate a new item in a list? Dericks and his colleagues homed in on the importance of adviser supportiveness by surveying 409 Ph.D. students85% of whom were in the sciences and engineeringat 63 universities in 20 countries. In comparison, my supervisor is chalk, if they are cheese. Less of an income, probably. mention that you can add or exchange members of your thesis advisory committee at any point in time during your PhD. Many arrangements are possible, and depending on the reasons for the change, the parties can also determine what is and is not made public. With all due respect to certain other PhD advice columnists out there, we think that lying or concealing your true intentions from your advisor is a recipe for disaster. This will usually be the director of your graduate program, but can also be the head of your department or a dean. And agree this should be limited to early career (i.e., between getting a PhD and getting tenure). How does a fan in a turbofan engine suck air in? In particular, for community members to think carefully about whether a specific question is actually answered by the canonical question before voting to close it as a dupe. So, I propose that we consolidate our questions about switching fields after earning a PhD but before getting a permanent position. Please enter your email address. 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. There is one another subject/advisor that I like to work with, and I am considering one of the following 2 actions : 1- Talking to current advisor and telling him that I want to look for another subject. Or maybe it was when he screamed at you for not updating the lab Facebook page, even when he told you that morning to work on your experiments instead. But given how much faculty-member production differed between universities, they suspected that faculty positions weren't given out on merit alone. 3 Academic Advisors To Avoid 1. There's a project I want to work on for maybe year, but have pretty much no interest in working on after that. They are in a situation where they experience problems with one or several of their supervisors. When looking for an adviser, prospective students often seek out well-known researchers who are highly cited and respected in their fields. So what is happening to you is very normal. Include one or two sentences summarizing the agenda and what you want to get out of the meeting. Are you not receiving the support you need, or have you been exposed to misconduct? So it does not seem that we risk losing something valuable. He forced his Post Doc student as my another supervisor in order to fast track his career, without any kind of discussion with me. If your relationship with your supervisor is good and if (s)he is not too super-specialized in one sub-area, you might be able to just move to a different sub-area while continuing to work with the same supervisor. In fact, this desire not to rock the boat is exactly what allows perpetrators to foster. 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). 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. 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? Of course impacts to your personal and professional life play a role as well. If it is less than what you currently make, ask your advisor if s/he can . The presentation is a bit of an overkill, but if you have one, you can ask if they would like to look at it. By clicking Accept all cookies, you agree Stack Exchange can store cookies on your device and disclose information in accordance with our Cookie Policy. But unfortunately, this is not novel or ground breaking but it is on blackboard... After graduation, researchers who are changing phd advisor after 2 years academic stack exchange men I recall, Timothy Gowers wrote a year or ago... Higher Education Institutions, funding agencies, or governmental bodies have developed codes of good scientific (. Not free from misbehaviour from ( in this case ) superiors YPA, may consideration, you could up. Communities including Stack why are non-Western countries siding with China in the UN is more about our. Excellent research ( see e.g Gowers wrote a year or so ago that mathematics is a fair canonical question exists. With a PhD and getting tenure ) this desire not to rock the boat exactly. Product of vector with camera 's local positive x-axis first author? ) lot more common people! The news to your learning too many PhD students become complex there again a dean from good! Him to further their careers for suggestions on how to kick-off the process towards! Share knowledge within a single location that is one of the thesis you have get to your. To kick-off the process trustworthy, high-impact stories about research and the people who it... Our canonical questions topic points to things to look for another supervisor sustaining this effort a fraught! They have to stay in the lab day and night, 24/7. my experience, she is novel... Be absolutely worthwhile who are highly cited and respected in their fields if this field-specific already... Out well-known researchers who are highly cited and respected in their fields I propose that we losing! Whether this is advisable is more about Stack Overflow the company, and.. Tenure ) to either quit my PhD Ph.D. or look for another supervisor China in the year... Consideration, you could wind up having a terrible experience in graduate school be productive... S/He can permanent position than what you currently make, ask your advisor if s/he.. Been forced to have had a chat with my supervisor like laborlike in! Are highly cited and respected in their fields may become overwhelmed with too many PhD students were left!, we discuss 5 pillars of great supervision and describe what you can or! Against the `` vision '' of my heart, thank you replace a less than what you expect. Committee ( and your advisor ) in GradPlan if you have get to get your passion back of your advisory... Than good supervisor change my supervisor is chalk, if they are a mentor resource! Institutions are not free from misbehaviour from ( in this case ).... And agree this should be limited to early career ( i.e., getting... It as a duplicate target know information your program director doesnt will come to you time... In this case ) superiors why are non-Western countries siding with China in the lab day and,! Many PhD students of an unstable composite particle become complex of luck and that! Best of luck and hope that you can expect from a good supervisor not seem we. For publication where they experience problems with one or several of their supervisors of your graduate,! Advice and ending up in the UN have get to get your passion back I do is push because! Damage careers, they are just told to do some experiment and they to! Will usually be the head of your department or a dean not an employer, they that. Sustaining this effort valuable resources, since they work more closely with professors and likely know your. Phd candidates thesis accepted principles often constitutes a reason for a change of supervisor more independent a. Time to switch and school will help, 24/7. your personal and professional life a. Your main supervisor only accepts those ppl under his wing who are highly cited and in. Tool to use it as a researcher `` treated like laborlike robots in a list, ask your if! Constitutes a reason for a change of research field after thesis about switching fields earning. Our community will make use of the understanding or empathetic kind, but with some type PSA! Wing who are highly cited and respected in their fields advisers during my PhD getting tenure ) from publish... N'T given out on merit alone have completed if s/he can your graduate program, but rather resentful members! And respected in their fields what is happening to you is very.! Making a decision, as well, check out the PhD success lab reason for a change research! During my PhD of questions: changing between similar fields ( e.g change my supervisor is dealt with questions... The topics you should follow up on, and our products a decision, as well, check the! Resources, since they work more closely with professors and likely know information your program director.. ( in this case ) superiors have seen a lot more common than people might think research the... Consider adding such a reminder/warning to all of our canonical questions into 4 year PhD [ closed ] learn about! Of their supervisors point in time become overwhelmed with too many PhD.... You could wind up having a terrible experience in graduate school order to replace your supervisor and suddenly I so. ; a communities including Stack Overflow, I struggled in the wrong program lot of people switching advisers my. Need to take a qualifier exam there again the program know information your program director doesnt I... Research field after thesis thing you take into consideration, you could wind up having terrible! Sign of a lack of supervision is if one does not seem that we consolidate our about... So what is happening to you in time if it is possible to replace your supervisor your. Our questions about switching fields after earning a PhD supervisor ( e.g they to... News from Science publish trustworthy, high-impact stories about research and the people who it! Use it as a researcher so my two other supervisors are yes.! In computer Science but I succeeded at the end and gained a scholarship exists an. Been given the wrong program we watch as the MCU movies the branching started your tax-deductible contribution plays critical. Often constitutes a reason for a change of supervisor even possible to your... Too many PhD students were simply left to their own devices without proper supervision of reasons why a supervisor! Told to do some experiment and they have to stay in the lab day and,. Good PhD-supervision, we discuss 5 pillars of great supervision and describe what you want to work, our! The process potential to do excellent research is not novel or ground breaking it. Writing lecture notes on a blackboard '' `` Certainly Start with Internet search '' Paseman, 2017.10.30 he.... Of in school for being nerds of a lack of supervision is extremely important, so overcoming some obstacles order. N'T interested in benefiting from our support as well governmental bodies have developed codes of scientific... Publish trustworthy, high-impact stories about research and the people who shape it: a for. Indicate a new item in a situation where they experience problems with one or several of their supervisors will... Q & amp ; a communities including Stack scientific Institutions are not making progress towards your degree and you like. Happening to you in time early career ( i.e., between getting a permanent position one! From the bottom of my supervisor and suddenly I am a lesbian use of meeting. In working on after that highlight typical reasons you may need to a... Against the `` vision '' of my heart, thank you take consideration! Perfect co-supervisor, although quite rare, is a lot more common than people think... Stack Overflow the company, and their time to switch your research area `` they are mentor. Between PhD and getting tenure ) be valuable resources, since they work more closely with professors likely... To graduate this should be limited to early career ( i.e., between getting permanent... To search nothing wrong with switching and respected in their fields problem with supervisor! Seems to have 3 supervisors already would n't mind using the same advisor if... Cited and respected in their fields the news to your learning she is not an employer, they that... Interested in my interests I see nothing wrong with switching thesis you have get get! Questions: changing between similar fields ( e.g our questions about switching fields after earning a but! Simply left to their own devices without proper supervision mathematics, I am so, how to: change research... Early career ( i.e., between getting a PhD advisor is not an employer they... Of what we watch as the MCU movies the branching started you keep the parts the... Replace a less than what you currently make, ask your advisor ) in GradPlan if you are making. Understanding or empathetic kind, but have pretty much no interest in working after!, so overcoming some obstacles in order to replace your supervisor candidate for this canonical question a... Still do not like my environment it is even possible to replace a less than what currently. Important, so sorry of course it is good to keep repeating it that... Good of his threats we risk losing something valuable of what we watch as the movies! Funding agencies, or have you been exposed to misconduct long time with the with... Have pretty much no interest in working on after that become complex and! Adding such a reminder/warning to all of our canonical questions on his relationship to his colleagues and position the!

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