Are any of you afraid of your advisor's

[WornOutGrad]

My advisor scares the crap out of me! Seriously, I am terrified of this lady! Is this the case for anyone else on here too?

[Eigen]

If your adviser scares you, I'd recommend taking steps to remedy the situation. You can't really learn effectively from someone who scares you.

You should probably either find another adviser who doesn't scare you, or figure out what scares you about her and how to deal with it. Sometimes it can just be an attitude, and if you can see it from a different viewpoint, it won't be as bad.

[CarlieE]

I think it's normal to feel a little intimidated, but as Eigen mentioned above, to be actually, truly scared is another thing..

What exactly are you scared of? Letting her down? Getting yelled at? Her going ballistic on you? If you're worried you're going to let her down, or you won't live up to expectations, then join the club - I think we all feel a little that way about our professors, and that's normal... If it's any of the latter, you might want to see if other students have a problem with her and how they've dealt with it, or if your chair is aware of the absolute fear that this woman is causing...

[Denis20202020]

to think she really controls your life, until you graduate, it is OK to be scared. My adviser scares me also. but if you are terrified that you can't work with her, then you might need to do something about it.

[juilletmercredi]

My advisor does NOT control my life...and no one's advisor should control their life. Even my academic life isn't really controlled by my advisor, because if for some reason he happened to turn into a dragon (which I don't think is likely, since he's a sweetheart) I can always find another one, or simply leave.

I'm not saying that to be petty, but honestly I think the key to being happy in graduate school is realizing that YOU control your life. There's a certain level of BS after which you should be able to go "You know what, not worth it."

[WornOutGrad]

to think she really controls your life, until you graduate, it is OK to be scared. My adviser scares me also. but if you are terrified that you can't work with her, then you might need to do something about it.

Yeah, um, if any advisor controlled my life, I would leave immeadiately. I think I let the fear of her control my life! But I also need to keep in mind that this is MY education and MY life. While I completely recognize my advisor's role in my education as well as the resources she makes available to me, that's only part of what has made my graduate education possible.

My advisor does NOT control my life...and no one's advisor should control their life. Even my academic life isn't really controlled by my advisor, because if for some reason he happened to turn into a dragon (which I don't think is likely, since he's a sweetheart) I can always find another one, or simply leave.

I'm not saying that to be petty, but honestly I think the key to being happy in graduate school is realizing that YOU control your life. There's a certain level of BS after which you should be able to go "You know what, not worth it."

Very, very well put! I have to admit that I'm getting close to that right now.