Lack of summer funding reveals issues with advisor (long)

[mandarin.orange]

Third year into my PhD, it became apparent late winter/early spring that I was hosed on summer funding. I can't pay rent and expenses to be here, advancing on lab work, without a salary. I made the mistake of not asking more carefully/negotiating when I was newly-admitted student.

 

For my first two summers, I applied for -- and got -- competitive fellowships at the university level. Now a candidate, I'm no longer eligible for these funds, plus it's unprecedented to get it 3x. Additionally, because of a university-wide pay structure with a substantial delay (first TA paycheck is Nov 1), I know these f'ships are not monetarily enough to bridge the gap anyway.

 

I arranged a 1-on-1 meet with my advisor as soon as I knew this would be a problem (Feb). I had a budget and dollar amount of what I would need from June - Nov 1 to support myself, and be productive. He immediately expressed "no, I can't do that" right away, citing a cross-departmental move that he's making which starts Jul 1 (we've known about it) and how he's basically back to square 1 jump-starting new research funds. But, then he alluded to maybe some funds being available.

 

I have since brought this up numerous times. I convinced my dept. to give me summer class that will be part time and cover my living expenses through August. But, there is still Sept-Oct to deal with. I've kept advisor up-to-date every step of the way, and politely inquired, and tried to be real, forthcoming, and transparent (with real $ amounts) about this. He's said things like, "Well, you had better hope that Labmate X and Labmate Y get their summer f'ships funded, so that there's money for you." In a lab meeting, he mentioned "there might be some money for someone to take the lead on new a, b, and c analyses." In a one-on-one meeting, "I don't want you to worry about eating cat food over the summer, haha."

 

Labmate X and Y both got their fellowships. He still has not made me a concrete offer or brought it up in any way. In our last lab meeting, he polled us round-table to ask about our summer $ situations. I repeated the part-time summer class, but that there was still a gap to fill. He just moved on to the next person. Later, he was brainstorming out loud about "scraping together some funds" to bring an incoming, new student down earlier, before the school year, to work on lab stuff and help with fieldwork. So...wait, this person (with an incomplete MS thesis right now) gets priority?!

 

I can't shake the feeling that this is game-playing and a deliberate keeping-his-cards-too-close strategy on his part. Is he paranoid about grads looking for a free lunch or something? He knows I'm a hard worker by this point. He's expressed wanting to motivate students to generate their own funding, but this seems too much.

 

I see a few courses of action:

 

1) Arrange a 1-on-1 meeting, and ask One. Last. Time. about a research stipend. Lay out my plan of research that I want to accomplish. I should add that I have my own funds available (from society grants) for lab and fieldwork expenses, so I'm self-supporting in that regard, just can't use that money for salary.

 

2) Find more part time work (easier said than done...I have been trying!). Plus, there's working through how I will accept that this is going to be time away from lab and research, and put me behind. And, I suspect there will be backlash from him when he realizes I'm not in lab after all to give the odd lab tour, to supervise the next rando visiting student, to train the incoming grad student, etc.

 

3) Take out a student loan. And, feel no obligation to do anything except the labwork that's going to move along my research, or go stay with my partner for a few weeks and do my writing  there. While it galls me to essentially occupy our lab "pro bono" and take on this debt, it does move along my progress to get out of here and graduate.

 

My relationship with my advisor is generally workable and a good one. I respect him as a mentor and top scholar in our field. But, I cannot make any traction on this point. If he fails to fund me for part of this summer, I don't know how I'm going to work through some measure of long-lasting bitterness towards him.

[St Andrews Lynx]

I think you need to sit down with your advisor and some hard salary figures on a piece of paper. What the Dept is paying you for the summer class, how much cash you have from external funds (e.g, the grants), and the exact amount of money that you have budgeted you need (rent, living expenses, whatever). Tell him the amount of money that you require to support yourself.

 

From your post it sounds like you are not completely cash-strapped (you have a part-time TAship and grants) over the summer. Perhaps your advisor doesn't realise that there is a significant financial gap in your funding for August, which is why he's reluctant to give you more money after you've told him that you already have some. 

 

Lastly: a verbal agreement isn't worth the paper its written on. I would consider emailing your advisor and wait until you get a commitment in writing before trusting them on promised funding.

[mandarin.orange]

Thanks for the response. Yes, the summer class is a help; I seriously would be panicking by now if that wasn't helping to buy time until August. But after that, I will go rapidly into the red. In addition, I have debt from this past year's taxes, as well as the living expenses I had to take on last Oct due to that Nov 1 pay delay.

[fuzzylogician]

I second the suggestion to talk to your advisor very concretely about the numbers and where you stand. Depending on your relationship with your advisor and how you expect he will react, you might also consider talking to him about the possible alternatives for what you might do if you don't get support from your department. I would probably only mention getting a part-time job or staying with your partner and working on your own stuff away from the lab. Those things would take you away from the work that would benefit your advisor and might help him see the direct value he would get out of helping you (which honestly shouldn't be such a factor in getting him to do something, but unfortunately sometimes it is). The point is to make it clear that something is about to give, and you are looking for ways for that to not be your research.

[mandarin.orange]

(which honestly shouldn't be such a factor in getting him to do something, but unfortunately sometimes it is).

 

Thanks for this acknowledgement. I’m working hard and committed to this summer-in-residence, so it’s hard to hear the off-the-cuff comments in the group setting, like “Oh, I’ll light a fire under (new, incoming student) to finish his MA by tossing some funds his way.” Another grad told me an anecdote about how supported he felt by having my advisor on his committee, as he (advisor) just wrote him a personal check on the fly for a few hundred for conference funds.

 

I can’t help but think there is something fundamentally wrong with my approach, because I have initiated this conversation so many times, with no results.

[rising_star]

I think you need to be really concrete and probably come in with a spreadsheet and budget, just as you would if applying for a grant. And make it crystal clear that i your advisor doesn't support you, it will ultimately delay your degree progress because it will delay your work on your research. Good luck! Let us know how it goes!

[mandarin.orange]

Hi everyone,

 

Just to follow up, this situation did resolve itself and my advisor supplemented my teaching assignment for the summer with a small fellowship. I waited to update until I actually saw the funds in my account.

 

I didn't rule out that this would happen eventually, but I think the larger problem was that we (me + PI) went for a very long time -- many months and throughout the spring -- not on the same wavelength. Once PI officially transferred out of his admin position, finished his spring teaching (over)load and got thinking about fieldwork, our visiting students, incoming lab students, and long lab meetings, I brought up funding again. He merely asked how much I needed, what I would deliver in exchange for it, and off he went to talk to our senior dept. admin and it was done. 

 

I'm glad it worked out, but what a frustrating spring term. I'm a planner and project a budget months in advance. Rent is very expensive in this city, and first paycheck of the year is much delayed. So, I was worried, and kept applying for jobs, in the midst of working on quals, and teaching my own class. The part time work search was esp. time-consuming, stressful and frustrating, particularly making time for interviews to which I would never get a call back. I respect my PI, but he's often cagey and split personality about money like this (labmates will attest to this). It's only galvanized me to secure even more of my own funding next year.

Finally, I want to give a big thanks to those who replied to my orig post. Most of you are long-time GradCafers and whose opinions I have really come to respect over the past 3-4 years. I cross-posted this on the C.H.E. forums, BTW, and got overwhelming response, in a completely different vein. Many were from professors who took the opportunity to school me on my financial irresponsibility, the unfairness of life, how I needed to switch advisors, that perhaps yes, I really should think about leaving academia as I am clearly oversensitive. It was...rather useless to my situation, but I guess quite illuminating in the end, as insight into how hardcore academics really think. Or at least, the type that spends (too much?) time over at The Chronicle.
 

Edited July 24, 2014 by mandarin.orange

[geographyrocks]

I don't really have anything useful to add. I just wanted to say that some of the responders at CHE really were total jerks. Also, this has convinced me to work my ass off and try for a NSF fellowship. Grad school is hard enough without worrying constantly about finances!

[rising_star]

mandarin orange, thanks for coming back to provide an update. I'm really glad to hear that you and your advisor were able to resolve the situation ultimately. Hopefully you won't have to go through this again.

 

geographyrocks, external funding is always awesome if you can get it. Not just the NSF, but the various fellowships from DOD (depending on your work and your politcal inclinations), DOE, NOAA, and the EPA STAR fellowship (assuming it gets offered). Make sure you take advantage of all the resources your grad school has (there's usually someone that will look over your materials or who runs workshops on how to apply) so that your applications are the best they can possibly be. Good luck with your applications.

[Sigaba]

C.H.E. forums, BTW, and got overwhelming response, in a completely different vein. Many were from professors who took the opportunity to school me on my financial irresponsibility, the unfairness of life, how I needed to switch advisors, that perhaps yes, I really should think about leaving academia as I am clearly oversensitive. It was...rather useless to my situation, but I guess quite illuminating in the end, as insight into how hardcore academics really think. Or at least, the type that spends (too much?) time over at The Chronicle.

 

 

@mandarin.orange I'm glad that you got things worked out. Going forward, I urge you to do what you can to avoid looking into the well of cynicism when dealing with your PI. My reading of your initial posts was that the PI needed to find his new normal before he could get you funding, was trying to stay abreast of your situation, and was trying to get you to manage your expectations.

 

MOO, the CHE fora is an echo chamber for academics with frustrated professional ambitions and maladaptive personality traits. Many of its members are examples of why increasing numbers of non academics in America hold the Ivory Tower in contempt. (In many cases, the contempt is pot, meet kettle.)

 

If that BB's more strident and prolific posters are as keyed into things as they'd have readers believe, then why do they need an outlet for a continuous stream of anonymous bitching as opposed to focusing their time and energy on getting things done?

[mandarin.orange]

Oh my gosh, Sigaba just told me I had misplaced cynicism... 

 

Well, to be fair, a couple of those CHE posters told me I was not cynical enough. I was, apparently, blind to my PI's passive-aggressive methods to squeeze me out of the lab group. What!!

 

Your evaluation is pretty on-point, though -- I was in a very negative place this spring due to how hard I was working, and some nonfinancial things. With some better focus, support, time and availing myself of my uni's counseling services, I am coming out of those weeds.

 

As for the insight on CHE -- you confirmed my hunch. So I had posted at CHE the Fri or Sat of Mem Day Weekend, and I was just surprised at how many replies I got throughout the weekend...so these academics, who self-identify as successful, spend holiday weekends browsing online fora, rather than...enjoying life? That was my initial reaction.

 

GeographyRocks, I would encourage anyone to think hard about their long-term funding. If nothing, this experience is making me more attuned to the job market and related negotiations, esp. as many profs are on 9-month salary plans. NSF, NASA etc. fellowships are awesome...I can't speak personally to that, obviously. But, as mentioned I have a collection of smaller grants, which are also worth seeking. These have been great and provided some freedom from not asking for every dime/expense from PI, as well as bypassing some of the large-university labyrinthian reimbursement procedures.

Edited July 24, 2014 by mandarin.orange

[Sigaba]

PI's passive-aggressive methods to squeeze me out of the lab group. 

 

 

FWIW, while it is commonplace (popular) to attribute behavior such as that exhibited by your PI as "passive-aggressive," that is not what he was doing. 

 

The clinical definition of passive aggressive behavior more accurately correlates to malingering <<LINK>>. That is, by definition, your PI cannot exhibit "passive aggressive" behavior towards you because he's sitting in the cat-bird seat in your relationship with him. (If he really wants you out, you'll be gone before you get there.) On the other hand, if he has a habit of bitching, moaning, and defying--but ultimately complying with--the directives of those higher up in his food chain, then such behavior might qualify as "passive-aggressive."

 

But beyond that, if we're going to shake our collective heads in disappointment at those academics at the CHE fora who take the professional low road, it is incumbent upon us not to follow in their footsteps by engaging in one of the most uncivil activities imaginable: putting on the couch individuals when we neither have the professional training nor the invitation to do so. Instead, it is much better to refer to such activity as "acting like a poo poo head" and to call a habitual malingerer by another, more applicable term: asshat.

 

Er. Please pardon me for belaboring this point. I have had a dual hatted historian / clinical psychoanalyst bounce me off the walls enough times. But beyond that, the current wave of populism has helped to contribute to America's long established intertwined practices of anti-intellectualism / anti-professionalism. When we argue that behavior is pathological, we contribute to our own marginalization. YMMV.

 

As for your cynicism, the reason I counsel against it is because it is in your best interests to maintain your relationship with your PI along its present trajectory.