sqfasi

Good point, rising_star, and thanks for sharing your experience. You're right that 'awful' is hard to gauge since it is so subjective and this is a tricky situation...Part of the reason it has been so hard for me to get to this point of considering switching is because my advisor is a genuinely kind and enthusiastic person who has gone through a rough time in his personal life. I have so much sympathy, but I do not know if the personal issues are the cause of these behaviors in communication or if they are inherent. Or perhaps it was also a bad year due to over-scheduling with committees--I don't want to assume anything here. I just know it has been affecting my ability to do my best work from both the extra stress of chasing him down and a lack of reliable critique to engage with. From other students, I know the classroom conduct which certainly is a habit of many years. However, nobody mentioned difficulties in communication with him when I asked for the dirt during prospective students' day. Everyone spoke so highly of him and focused on his good sense of humor and passion. It was not until I arrived, officially registered and taking classes, that these problems became apparent. Yet everyone made it seem like I could not complain about this to anyone, despite the fact that they too had issues with his teaching style. Perhaps focusing on the positive aspects is how the other students are dealing with this. Or they have a higher tolerance/patience level. My own experience is that he appears to treat his advisees more as young friends with whom he can spend 6 hours chatting about his favorite topics and takes practical advising duties with a lax attitude. This may be ok for some, but it is driving me insane and I can accept if it's just a difference in personality, as fuzzylogician put it. Some people may not need much advising. I thought I was one of those. I certainly don't expect hand-holding or pats on the head, but this whole process made me realize there are a few basics that need to be covered in order for someone to have the title of advisor. Occasional concrete feedback, syllabi/reliable schedules for courses, and letters of rec when asked are among those for me. I may have to tweak my research to apply to a different prof (aside from the most logical new advisor in the program--his wife!), but it may be worthwhile if I have my sanity and can at least enjoy the process a bit more.

Thanks for the responses, you guys. Is there a certain amount of notice I should give him? I don't want to burn bridges since he's a big name in my field. Provided that the potential new adviser agrees, I would like to do this before the semester begins so I can get my classes in order, so I hope it's quick and painless. Do profs have a tendency to turn students away when they ask to switch to work with them? I realize this is probably very individual, but if anyone has any experience with this, I would love to hear how you handled it. Even though I've positively phrased the email to sound like I am asking to switch only due to a change in research interests, I feel like it's a thin lie to cover up the fact I want to get away from my advisor...

I've been having problems with my advisor that I believe are beyond the norm and would love some outside opinions. Is the issues below normal? Are these issues salvageable or should I cut my losses? I am starting the second semester of my second year of coursework (out of three). - First off, I have never received a paper back with comments. Even when I make an appointment to talk specifically about how I did on a paper from last semester, he usually ends up talking about something completely different or what I could do the next semester. So I have received next to no constructive feedback other than "It was good," which tells me nothing about what I need to improve on (and I can admit my papers are not perfect). - He forgot a letter of rec for me last year. This was after I asked for it in person with over a month's notice, and reminded him in the weeks leading up to--and after the deadline when the fellowships office informed me it was missing. I emailed him about it repeatedly with no reply. Perhaps this was because he was busy and chairing two job search committees, but I do not believe this excuses anything. He has never mentioned it. - He had me plan an entire project for him this summer, coordinating between two separate groups with hours of my time, only to completely pull the plug on the project and not tell me about it. - His seminars run up to 3 hours over the scheduled 3 hours regularly. He did not tell us about any special scheduling when the course began and just runs it until he feels (or we look visibly) tired. When he cancelled a class due to a job talk, he rescheduled it on a Saturday and still ran it just as long--though he does bring food to sustain us during these meetings, I'm not sure it makes up for the hours I could be spending doing research or having a life. And he scheduled additional meetings during study week. Apparently he's been doing all this for years. - Also we never received a syllabus for that seminar. He just gave us incomplete references in the class prior that we had to track down. - I almost never get responses to emails and must hunt him down in person still to little effect. Or do I just lack the stamina for academia? The rest of his grad students don't seem to be thrilled with the classroom approaches either, but they seem to just grin and bear it. However, he has not forgotten a letter of rec for them to my knowledge. These problems are leaving me paranoid about what will happen when I need his support on the job market or dissertation guidance. I am considering asking another prof to supervise me, but I'm not certain if I should try to work these things out first. Or should I just ask the other prof, who will hopefully say yes, then tell my current advisor I'm leaving due to shifting research interests?