Anybody else feel like they were "bullied" into their thesis?

[mudgie]

My thesis topic was basically handed to me by my undergrad boss. At the time, I figured, "Hey! This is great! I have a huge head start!" However, I never had much interest in the topic to begin with, and now I'm in the process of writing the stupid thing so I can graduate in May. I'm miserable and unmotivated, and it's way too late now to do anything but get it done.

 

Not looking for any advice. Just commiseration. Anybody else?

[.letmeinplz//]

My thesis topic was basically handed to me by my undergrad boss. At the time, I figured, "Hey! This is great! I have a huge head start!" However, I never had much interest in the topic to begin with, and now I'm in the process of writing the stupid thing so I can graduate in May. I'm miserable and unmotivated, and it's way too late now to do anything but get it done.

 

Not looking for any advice. Just commiseration. Anybody else?

How bout that Georgia, Georgia Tech game last year?

 

Hey I've been in the industry for almost 4 years now, sometimes* you just have to tough it out and think of the bigger picture. Once this challenge is out of your way you can move on to bigger and better things.

 

* by sometimes I mean all the time...

Edited January 29, 2015 by <ian>

[GeoDUDE!]

My thesis topic was basically handed to me by my undergrad boss. At the time, I figured, "Hey! This is great! I have a huge head start!" However, I never had much interest in the topic to begin with, and now I'm in the process of writing the stupid thing so I can graduate in May. I'm miserable and unmotivated, and it's way too late now to do anything but get it done.

 

Not looking for any advice. Just commiseration. Anybody else?

 

 

Who doesn't hate their thesis when they write it? Find me a person and collect your reward! 

[alanc]

Pretty much everyone.

[shadowclaw]

Who doesn't hate their thesis when they write it? Find me a person and collect your reward! 

 

I still like my thesis and I'm writing it at the moment. I'm actually very fond of writing which is probably why I'm enjoying myself. However, once I get comments back from my committee and later on the graduate school (who are apparently extremely anal about formatting), it's quite possible that I will not enjoy my thesis at all. I will admit that some days I definitely don't feel motivated to do any writing, like several days over winter break that I spent binge watching Babylon 5.

 

I wouldn't say I was bullied into my thesis, but half of it was handed to me by my advisor. However, I knew what this project was going to be about before I even applied and quite frankly, it's the perfect project for my research interests. Plus it involved traveling abroad, which is a huge bonus. The half that wasn't handed to me by my advisor was what I approached him with as a potential project, and it meshed quite nicely with what he wanted to do, so it's pretty much win-win.

Edited February 1, 2015 by shadowclaw

[FantasticalDevPsych]

I'm similar to Shadowclaw, though I'm still an undergrad and just finished mine and am now working on polishing it to try and publish ATM.

I came to my PI with the general idea which originally going to be meshed with other ideas. However I read a lot over break and managed to come with an idea which I ended up bringing to her and she helped make better by helping me consider aspects of research in my area that only an experienced researcher would know.

I liked writing it for the most part and it wasn't until receiving feedback (especially one really bad round) that I didn't. Like Shadow there were days I really didn't want to write and then days I really did. I liked being able to consider aspects of something I actually liked learning about (instead of what I had to do for undergrad papers) but there were some days and aspects that were difficult.

At least from my experience (and definitely not claiming to know all) it felt like the best theses were ones that the person actually liked the topic area that they were writing on though it still will probably have its frustrating times even for them.

Good luck on finishing!

[TakeruK]

Most people tire of their PhD thesis topic after working on such a small scope for 5-7 whole years. Or at least, when you are only a few months away, you definitely feel that you just want to get it done with and move on to different interests.

 

In my opinion, academia is a workplace and a thesis is just a work assignment. So it's not really being "bullied" into a thesis, but when I chose my thesis advisor, I talked to a bunch of profs, asked what they would want me to work on, and then picked the thesis topic based on these priorities:

 

1. I think I would enjoy the prof's mentoring and work style.

2. Working with this prof would result in strong LORs, good opportunities to travel and network.

3. I think the project would develop skills that matches my career goals.

4. This is a project that will result in papers and other things I need for jobs.

5. This is a project I can do within the time to graduate.

6. This project is a topic I am interested in.

 

To me, being interested in your thesis is the least important part. For many academics, what they do in grad school is very different from their main career path. I don't think graduate school is a place to follow your passion, instead, it's a place to get the training you need and get out. Bonus points if the topic interests you but I don't think it's necessary. Luckily, I am still interested in my topic but it's only halfway done for me.

 

Finally, for my MSc thesis, it was only 2 years, but I definitely felt the same way as you do near the end (i.e. just want this stupid thing done with). I wasn't even bullied into it at all, in fact, I was given a choice of several topics by my supervisor. So, I think it's possible and normal to hate your thesis by the end, even if you were originally interested in it and chose it yourself!

[spunky]

i chose a thesis topic during my master's that i LOVED and now i can't even be in the same room with that topic without feeling resentful and angry. and i used to LOVE it so much! 

 

so maybe this is a blessing in disguise? (i.e. you won't end up hating something that you initially loved?) 

[Chubberubber]

To me, being interested in your thesis is the least important part. For many academics, what they do in grad school is very different from their main career path. I don't think graduate school is a place to follow your passion, instead, it's a place to get the training you need and get out. Bonus points if the topic interests you but I don't think it's necessary. Luckily, I am still interested in my topic but it's only halfway done for me.

 I see your point, but have to somewhat disagree. Aren't you more likely to "get it over with" if you actually somewhat enjoy it? I've been invested in my MA thesis for the past 2 years and am still very interested in it (we get 3 years to complete a thesis). It probably helped that I also did many other things (academic and non-academic) so my thesis was always where I felt like I can completely be myself (professionaly at least).

[TakeruK]

 I see your point, but have to somewhat disagree. Aren't you more likely to "get it over with" if you actually somewhat enjoy it? I've been invested in my MA thesis for the past 2 years and am still very interested in it (we get 3 years to complete a thesis). It probably helped that I also did many other things (academic and non-academic) so my thesis was always where I felt like I can completely be myself (professionaly at least).

 

I guess it depends what works for you. It's funny, because your last sentence rings very true for me, but in the opposite sense. I also did many other things (academic and non-academic) where I could always be myself, so I didn't feel the need to be myself in my thesis work. That is, I got enough happiness out of life through my passions outside of work, so that work could just be work for me, it didn't also have to fulfill another passion all the time. I am still passionate about my work, but since it is not my only passion, I don't feel that bad about it when things don't go the way I want. So, for me, I find that spreading my passion across many activities is good for days where one of the things I care about goes poorly. That is, if my research is complete crap this week, I can always go and do a sport, or if I'm doing poorly at the sport that week, I can take solace in writing up some code for my research!

[Chubberubber]

Totally agree with you that hobbies and other interests are incredibly important for one's sanity. I was talking strictly within the broad definition of "work life" that my thesis is where I can fully express myself (not being limited by someone else's ideas or needs, and not having to do things I really don't find interesting what so ever). Having said that- I would often take a day off (rarely even a week off) of working on my thesis to keep my head clear and to not feel like I'm burning out. Even while writing, and especially when things don't go the way I want, I almost always take breaks to do completely unralted (and somtimes unproductive things- playing music/ taking a walk), to achieve that same goal... 

But I think that your bottom line- the importance of balance- is the most important thing for any grad student!

[TakeruK]

It's definitely all about balance. My point is that it is easier to achieve balance if you are more flexible. If you are more open-minded about your thesis topic, you have more opportunities and some of these opportunities might help you achieve better balance. This might not always be true though and whether it's worth it is a personal choice. For me, as I said above, I decided to find a school/program/advisor that I felt would support me best as a scientist and as a human, and then went with whatever projects was available there, since being happy with my life is more important to me than being happy with the topic I am working on.

[Chubberubber]

 being happy with my life is more important to me than being happy with the topic I am working on.

AMEN!

[TenaciousBushLeaper]

I'm currently and undergrad senior, my advisor pretty much gave me my topic and project (a part of a larger project he's been working on since his dissertation). I don't necessarily *like* it but I don't dislike it at all, either. I see it more as a larger assignment, similar to what you'd get in any course. Aside from that, there are some pretty interesting questions that can be answered by the work I'm doing. I think the fact that I don't enjoy the topic yet, the fact that I think researching it may provide insights to questions which are still unanswered is what allows me to sort of disconnect from it. In the end this allows me to work on it as if I were a fricken drone. 

[happy little pill]

I really like my topic. It ended up only retaining about 10% of my original idea that I presented to my professor, but I think that that's why I like it. I think it's important to have a balance. For me, the non-academic things that I do on campus help get me through some of the tough points of being a grad student, but I can imagine it getting pretty tedious/terrible to have to work on a project for 4-7 years that you haven't liked from day one. I don't think I would make it to the end because that's a lot of time to devote to something I don't feel particularly passionate about.

[kotov]

My dissertation topic is pretty much all me. The only aspects that really stem from my advisor's influence are the comparative things, and that's just going to kind of be rolled into one chapter at the end.

[horse.renoir]

Is this an undergraduate thesis? If so, chill out. There could be much worse things to endure. If it's a Master's thesis, I'd be concerned about your advisor's perception of your capabilities.

 

Also, in my experience, the only people who aren't handed their thesis topics are those who do all the work to cultivate their own.

[RosyPosy68]

I wouldn't say I was bullied into it, but for my undergraduate honors thesis, I picked up a project that another lab member dropped after very preliminary planning stages (first draft of survey was written).  I did the whole project myself with little help or guidance from my PI (PI was pushing for me to finish someone else's paper for a project that they preferred...and so did I, to be honest, but I wanted to do the work myself).  So instead of bullying me into my thesis, I felt like PI was trying to bully me OUT of my thesis.  Now that I finished and graduated several years ago and am now on the grad school track, PI is suddenly pushing me --HEAVILY-- to publish my senior thesis or remove it from my resume (...?! I did the whole project myself, for a grade, through a different department. It will always be my senior thesis.) Now that I have more research experience, I don't like the paper or want it published. I have changed fields, so it is no longer relevant to my resume, and I think that although it was a good example of my research and writing abilities, it is not a study that will contribute to research.  However, I've heard there hasn't been a lot of product coming out of that lab lately, so I understand her frantic worry. 

 

This probably just seems like a venting anecdote (Ok, it totally is...) But I have a point:  The best and the worst PI's have an agenda.  They have quotas they have to meet, grants they want to obtain for the future, and a research resume they are constantly building.  I like to believe that most of the time, they don't realize they are pushing their agendas and truly think they are advising in our best interest.  But at some point, we have to decide how much it is work appeasing them and how much we can push for our own agendas as emerging researchers. That being said: I have NO IDEA where that balance is....

[pippapants]

Meh, I was bullied into the shape of my master's thesis. I applied to do a thesis instead of a capstone, which was accepted. Then my program changed its curriculum, and I have ended up being required to do both my thesis and the capstone required of everyone else. Unfortunately, I've had one semester for each, so I didn't really get to devote a full year to my thesis, collect enough data to do the kind of data analysis I wanted, etc.

 

It's been a disappointing year.