Lost in grad school...

[madamecurie]

Hello, So right now I'm a 2nd year Genetics student...about to start prepping for comps and I feel totally lost. I chose a lab that I thought had a really interesting project, PI seemed nice and had a good track record, RA in the lab and although the lab has no grad students, just undergrads, I was told that the PI and RA would be around to help at all times. So My first year has been great-data-wise...I've learned or trouble-shooted techniques and and was able to accumulate enough data for a co-first author paper we are writing. My problem is, I feel like I'm becoming a work horse in the lab...there is no one to talk to about science here. The undergrads don't care when I bring up models or pathways, and I've discovered that the RA is grouchy and tells me, "you should know this, you;re a grad student" about complicated crosses when I ask questions or doesn't have great insight on where experiments are going. The labs around me have no graduate students so I have no one to really interact with and bounce ideas off of. When I ask my PI questions about where the project is going, her response is...lets get this data first, or this manuscript in then see, but she's more interested in me spending time writing grants to get outside funding since our lab has little to no money now. I've learned through the year that our funding is out next year, that her most recent masters student failed out of the Phd during comps and had to opt out with a masters and the phd student before that failed her dissertation and never came back to continue it. I'm worried this is going to happen to me because I'm so immersed in gathering data, generating figures and writing grants that I'm not spending time on comps, classes or developing my science. I've now been put on to work on the other undergrad projects so I'm getting pulled in different directions. I just feel like I'm more of an RA right now than intellectually growing as a scientist.   Does anyone out there feel this way or have a solution? Thanks! 

[rising_star]

You may want to look into the possibility of co-chairs (if that's done in the sciences). Because your advisor's track record with grad students doesn't seem that great right now which is a bit worrying. You also should be doing more reading to help yourself find solutions to your questions (just guessing on this part).

[dstock]

You said you were just doing experiments for the undergrad projects now.  If you haven't yet defined and agreed to a thesis project/topic yet w/your advisor, you should.  (For comps, isn't this a requirement?) 

 

Continue to do as much background reading about your project as you can on your own.  You must understand the science and future directions quite a bit already if you're writing a co-first author paper, and writing grants.

 

It does sound frustrating not having a PI or someone senior in the lab to discuss the science with.   Not sure how to fix this- has it been this way for the whole year, or is it just a stressful month or 2 for the PI lately?

[madamecurie]

Hi sorry for the late reply. I have my project defined, but I've been doing the other projects as well. Yes, it's been like this for the whole year and just feels like it's getting worse. I recently got awarded a 2 year grant that I applied for...which is bitter-sweet because on one hand, I have my own funding, but on the other...I feel like I'm now locked into the lab.

 

Co-chairs is not a possiblity in my program. I have looked done background reading and trying to answer my own questions...but at what point am I granted guidance? Answering a methods question is one thing, but how do I know my line of thinking is correct on theories?

 

I'm just wondering how much "independence" should a graduate student be granted? Hard work is not what I'm trying to avoid...but I feel like I'm completely isolated in this situation and not sure if I'm supposed to get this PhD entirely on my own.  

[bsharpe269]

Having questions doesnt mean you are trying to avoid hard work. IMO, laziness would be going to your advisor and asking him to exaplain the theories or concepts to you. A hard working student would go to his PI and and explain his current understanding of an idea based on all of his work and reading and ask for confirmation or clarification. It seems like you just want the latter.

 

I feel like some PIs have this idea that students should be doing independent work on their own all the time. You are a PhD STUDENT. If you could get through this PhD without guidance then you would be a professor, not a student.

 

Can you talk to your PI and tell her that as the only PhD student that you feel a bit lost and isolated and ask for occasional meetings (every 2 weeks for example)? I have PhD students that are higher up than I am that I can go to with questions. WIthout this support system, I think that scheduling regular meetings with your PI would be very necessary.