kwaugust

I'm still technically a student for 3 more weeks (my graduation date has not passed), but I began the relocating process of moving things/getting situated after I finished my thesis earlier in the summer semester. My only remaining summer requirement was the thesis (no additional classes). Also, I communicated to professor B well in advance (i.e. early Spring Semester) that this was my plan and I did /everything/ in my power, including what felt like begging and pestering the professor repeatedly for any tasks that I could do to absolve my commitment prior to the beginning of Summer Semester. Also, I'm not sure that I was clear on this, but this was supposed to be a one term appointment (last Fall Semester) for a *specific* project, but the professor is no longer working on the project for this grant. It is on hold due to external issues. This is way more than I signed up for, and honestly I would be glad to pay the $500 to be free of the 30 hour commitment. Your tone sounds a bit hostile rising_star-- I did in fact do work on the project until the professor put things on hold. It isn't that I don't intend to do the work, it just seems like a messy situation. It feels like the professor should be more flexible with assigning me tasks that I can work on from a distance considering the situation at hand.

Thanks for your responses! One of the main problems is that I cannot come to campus for meetings, I am in the process of relocating out of state for my Ph.D. already. Professor B does not communicate over phone or e-mail-- this results in sporadic contact and no instructions on tasks. Professor B refuses to assign anything or let any work at all be done off campus (a bit extreme about data security). I will definitely see what Professor A thinks about it all. Professor A and B are close colleagues, so I must approach this delicately.

I would like to see if anyone has any advice for my current situation, and what my current options are if any. I work as a GRA in a small department where I am currently pursuing my Master's degree. I have worked for one professor (professor A) for awhile, but a second professor (B ) received a grant for a project in Fall 2014 that was a perfect research fit for me. I kept my original GRA appointment with Professor A, which was only 8 hours a week, and was also accepted as a GRA on the new project with 8 hours of funding through grant money from Professor B. My appointment was only supposed to last for the Fall semester. I was in the middle of my Ph.D. application cycle. I was very clear that I would only be a temporary GRA on Professor B's project, because the following semester I would need to finish my thesis hours and could be traveling frequently for interviews. There was a lot of momentum for the project in the beginning-- lots of meetings to attend, lots of GRA work to be done (building surveys, etc), so I had no problem with tasks. However, the project hit some delays mid-semester. One of my months of funding was canceled all-together, and I still "owed" 30 hours based on the monthly stipends I had already received. I tried countless times to find ways to make up the owed hours with Professor B during the Fall semester. I asked to help by working on other projects, grading papers, or anything to finish up my commitment. Professor B was very hard to reach and ignored my requests for tasks. When Professor B would respond, I was reassured that the project would get off the ground soon or was told that they would be in touch with additional tasks. However, this never materialized. Now, I have successfully defended my thesis, and I now have a 20/hr week GRA appointment with professor A until I finish up the term. I am only a student at this institution for 3 more weeks, and then I will be moving out of state to attend my Ph.D. program. With three weeks remaining, I have been contacted by Professor B to make up those owed hours. What are my options here? Professor A and I are on very good terms, and I often work from sites off campus. I am traveling frequently and even presenting at a conference in these last 3 weeks. Professor B's newly materialized tasks all need to be completed from campus and they are being rather inflexible on assigning me more feasible work. I feel like I am in an impossible situation. Any ideas on how to proceed? Thanks in advance!