Uncertainty Combined with Scatter-Brained Advisor

[GeoMauro]

So I am here to vent about two big topics that are interconnected with my graduate school experience.

Firstly, I realized upon the middle of my first semester (I started in fall 2017) that my advisor is a bit scatter-brained. At first, I was okay with the scatter-brained bit because my previous advisor was a bit scatter-brained so I figured that since this was master's (and everything was based on my own interpretation of the literature, experiment, etc...) that this would not be detrimental. That was until three months ago when my research partner and I were thrown into a project that was unrelated to anything our advisor had done before (including the graduate students she has now). Now, we are, again, scraping to get a single "yes" or "no" answer out of her because we are both in a class where we have to submit progress in addition to abstracts, outlines, etc... Understandably, we are both getting frustrated and while we know more about our project now than compared to last year, this is not the ideal we searched for. So we both, officially, are regretting our decision to attend graduate school, even though for both of us this was the only school that offered acceptance and funding. Now, I can say that when I visited and contacted my now-current advisor I asked her how she organized her graduate students and she told me that she was organized and had weekly meetings with her students to discuss progress and work on the project, so to me, this was a complete misleading. The only thing I can say that is any small amount of a defense is that the project I am assigned to work on is a part of a project that began with a colleague of my advisor's so maybe she has no control? But even still, what I can say to anyone in a future degree program, especially in the sciences, make double, triple, and quadruple sure that the school you go with is 100% what you want with people who work with you exactly how you want to. For me, the worst part of my graduate school experience is not the lack of interest in the project I am doing (even though that is an annoyance), not the loss of money (though again that is certainly a major irritant), the worst is that I could have held on for another (put up with a job that I hated) in order to pursue a school that would fit every inch of my criteria. But instead, I thought that I could, in essence, settle, earn the degree, and move on to my doctorate at another. To which I do say, to my past self, hold out. Look only for the best and expect the best, don't just wish!

But I digress. The main reason why I am angered now is that while my advisor and other trusted professors known of my uncertainty (my advisor knows that I want to take my project a certain direction but she remains ambivalent about it), they offer no assistance whatsoever. I went to one professor that I trust and I asked them about the possibility of moving into science teaching (which I am interested in) and she, herself, is a science education advocate so I figured she would have something for me. Well, she did have a contact but the contact (who is at the school I am currently at!) remains unresponsive despite the numerous emails I have sent (and I checked the directory to make sure the email is correct). While there are other professors I could contact, I just feel that my school has let me down and that I am going to come out of this, $60K more in the hole. I thought I wanted to pursue a life in academia but academia, it seems, does not want to pursue me. And even other subjects, they don't seem to want me either. So to anyone else who has felt a pain similar to mine, know that we are all in this together and we will show the world our passions, even if we have to do it in unorthodox ways!

[hats]

Is this venting, or looking for advice? This doesn't sound fixable, but it sounds like it could be better. I wonder if the very good workplace advice at "Ask a Manager," which has a whole specialty in difficult bosses, might be helpful for you. For instance, when faced with an advisor from whom it is often difficult to get a straight answer, I switched to doing absolutely everything we needed to communicate about in writing. Questionnaire-style emails have been sent: 1) If I understand you correctly, we should proceed with task X. Is that correct? Yes/no. 2) If we proceed with task X, should we do it in way A or B? A or B. etc. It sounds like you may be more focused on exit strategies, but there are ameliorative things you could try in the meantime. (For example: can you get the science education contact's phone number?) Which year are you in? Is it worth leaving before you pay any more tuition, or are all your payments up until you graduate paid? How much is your funding, if you're still accruing $60k in debt?

Edited January 29, 2018 by hats

[TakeruK]

Sorry to hear that you are unhappy in your current situation!

If I understand the most correctly, you are currently in a Masters program and were originally thinking of a PhD program but now you are no longer doing so? If so, despite the difference in yours and the advisor's work habits and management styles, this doesn't mean you're stuck with advisors like this all the time. Would you be able to continue with your original plan of finishing the Masters and moving onto a PhD?

If this is a Masters program, the research situation sounds not ideal, but it certainly does not sound like you are doomed. You just need to finish and move onto a PhD program. If that is still what you want to do, despite the current bad experience.

[ExponentialDecay]

3 hours ago, hats said:

I wonder if the very good workplace advice at "Ask a Manager," which has a whole specialty in difficult bosses, might be helpful for you. 

 

I have unfortunately not found it too helpful because, 9 times out of 10, her advice is "your boss is toxic; find a new job".