Need advice for new PhD student

[CateR]

Hi,

I have started my PhD and its been a little more than 5 months. And I am in desperate need of advice. I will start with a bit of a background. I didn't start my PhD right after finishing my undergrad. I took about 2 and half years off and worked and then started my PhD and moved to a new continent to do so. My start has been filled with unexpected events to say the least. The lab that I work in doesn't have any ongoing grad students when I came in. It was me and another new student. So, My professor was the one who was primarily training us on the lab equipment and all which is fine but problem is he is a busy person so he expected always that he will do something and we will automatically master it that expectation ended up stressing me out a lot. I was also struggling with the load of coursework as I had a gap in the middle and was away from studying for a while. Also, right after moving I had hurt my knee ligament and as a result couldn't walk properly for more than two months. It was a very low point as I had just moved to a new city, didn't no many people and was feeling lost with all the coursework and everything last semester. My professor, anyway he gave me a specific data to collect which I am trying to collect to the best of my abilities but the experimental setup being complicated, poor quality sample and my own inexperience with little to no guidance from another soul in the lab is making the process slow. As I mentioned earlier, the course load was also stressful for me so I had to devote a good chunk of time to that as well. So, last semester at the end, he told me he feels I am not motivated and that I leave very early from the lab. I used to go there by 9 and stay till 5 or 6 last semester. Beyond that I didn't feel productive anyway and preferred studying or catching up on coursework or literature review at home.  So now working part or not being motivated, that is not true. I tried to explain this much to him. Right now, I am still doing the data collection and I am reading as much as  I can on the specific project but there's not much well published data related to the field. He hasn't assigned me to any new well defined projects so far. other than the first one he gave me. From the way he has been training me, it feels as if he wants somebody on the lab who knows how to take all the measurements and in and out of the lab perfectly and I am loosing interest and feeling demotivated for real now.  Meanwhile there are some other joint projects and I find them really interesting and would like to have the opportunity to work on them. I want to say that out loud to him after I am done with the data collection for my current assignment. Is that a good thing to do? Or should I wait for his instructions first.  Or am I looking at it all wrong? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Hope.for.the.best]

10 hours ago, CateR said:

From the way he has been training me, it feels as if he wants somebody on the lab who knows how to take all the measurements and in and out of the lab perfectly and I am loosing interest and feeling demotivated for real now.  Meanwhile there are some other joint projects and I find them really interesting and would like to have the opportunity to work on them. I want to say that out loud to him after I am done with the data collection for my current assignment. Is that a good thing to do? Or should I wait for his instructions first.  Or am I looking at it all wrong? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

It is common to struggle with learning new techniques at the beginning of your PhD. In fact, I struggled with mastering new techniques too when I first started my postdoc, so learning something new is inevitable for any new projects. I know you have tried explaining to your professor your problem. Did you do it when he was kind of blaming you, e.g. saying that you are not motivated and leave early? It would not be the best timing to get your difficulties across in the heat of the moment, as he was already frustrated with you (probably a bit emotional too). It would be best if you could schedule a meeting with him to discuss your struggles, including the lack of knowledge to master new techniques in a timely manner, difficulties with balancing the demand from coursework, and perhaps, problems with settling down in a new country. Be sure to work out with him how both of you can better align in terms of expectation, e.g. you want more help vs he wants you to be on top of things quickly. It is also a good idea for you to approach the academic advisor (or any equivalents) of your program, as they have seen problems like yours and should be able to offer some practical advice. 

I would suggest that you try sorting out your issues before considering a change of project. You can still face the same problems (e.g. settling down in a new country) even after you change your project. 

[Sigaba]

On 1/22/2019 at 6:15 PM, CateR said:

 Or am I looking at it all wrong? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

Your boss wants you to work harder. Don't tell him that you're working hard. Show him that you're willing to work harder, and then work harder. If he can't / won't show you how to do what you need to do to work harder, try to find someone who will train you and/or find more time to develop the skills you need. The tactics recommended by @Hope.for.the.best merit multiple close readings, careful thought, diligent consideration, and practiced execution.

Meanwhile, take care of your knee--physical pain drains motivation. Take care of your spirit. Take care of yourself. Keep up with your other responsibilities. If possible, seek support from people you actually know if they can provide you the support you need (rather than the support you want).

[CateR]

Thank you. I am trying to follow the advice and work hard while trying to take care of my health. Recently spoke to my Professor after failing yet again to get data correctly. He actually said its fine and every week will not be the same so I guess that is progress of some sorts in terms of communication. Really appreciate the advice. 

Edited January 28, 2019 by CateR