An uncomfortable situation: what happens when your advisor leaves?

[kogia.breviceps]

My PI's last day was last week, and well, it's been a really weird 2nd semester, and it's got me thinking- how common is it for faculty to leave their positions? Anyone else have this happen?

In my case, my advisor flat out quit and left for a position in industry. I have another friend at a different U had their prof leave for another U, and made no provisions for them to follow to the new school, thus, leaving my friend in a difficult position.

Anyone else have similar stories? Did it turn out well in the end?

and what would YOU do if your advisor only gave you a few months notice?

[far_to_go]

Sorry to hear about that, kogia.

I don't know how things work in your field, but in my social science department, I don't think it's a huge deal if one's PI retires/goes to another school/takes another job. We just have to find someone else with interests that are a "close enough" fit and ask that person to supervise our research. It's even possible to keep one's old advisor on the project as an "outside reader" if s/he is willing to do it.

It is kind of a bummer when things like this happen, though. After I got accepted to my program and agreed to come, I found out that one of the primary people I was hoping to work with had accepted a job at another school (on another continent, actually). Fortunately, there were still enough faculty with similar interests to make it worth my while to come here.