Other students can also be valuable resources, since they work more closely with professors and likely know information your program director doesnt. In comparison, my supervisor is chalk, if they are cheese. 2023 American Association for the Advancement of Science. If it is less than what you currently make, ask your advisor if s/he can . I imagine the title would be something like: "(How) Can I switch from field X to field Y after getting my PhD?" In these cases, when students had made substantial process, their prior work was included in their thesis when they moved to a new advisor within the same program. I wouldn't mind using the same advisor but if they aren't interested in my interests I see nothing wrong with switching. Am I being scammed after paying almost $10,000 to a tree company not being able to withdraw my profit without paying a fee, Applications of super-mathematics to non-super mathematics. But if that's the only thing you take into consideration, you could wind up having a terrible experience in graduate school. If a law is new but its interpretation is vague, can the courts directly ask the drafters the intent and official interpretation of their law? Do I need "Introduction" and "Conclusions" parts in my PhD thesis? Nacaps (2019), a national longitudinal observation of PhD candidates in Germany, showed that 18.6 % are not satisfied with their supervisory situation. Are you okay with continuing to see your current advisor on a regular basis? Cag has a point that we get quite a few very general, reasonably low-quality questions in this genre for which general advice could be sufficient. "You'll have setbacks. Sometimes a personality or work-style mismatch will occur - there is only so much you can learn about your future advisor before you start working with them. Are you not receiving the support you need, or have you been exposed to misconduct? Help News from Science publish trustworthy, high-impact stories about research and the people who shape it. Is it wise to change my supervisor in the late stages of my PhD? Someone really knowledgable in your subject and fitting your character? But advisees are best served if they are given the space to make mistakes and develop into capable, independent scientistsa process that can take time, and that is more likely to pay off after a student has left an adviser's lab. I now for the wisdom: it really doesn't matter. In one case the advisor had not graduated a single student for 20 years. It's critical to find "someone you can relate to, who is going to be supportive in a personal way," Dericks says. Are there conventions to indicate a new item in a list? (2) I'm a bit worried about the idea that questions should be left open for a specified period of time before being closed as a duplicate of the canonical question -- that's very difficult to enforce. Some only speak up about a problem when they literally cant take it any more and are desperate. (If not, should we have one?). This would be a much better question if you deleted the entire enumerated list, which is largely irrelevant for the question asked in the title. It only takes a minute to sign up. Determine if your stipend or salary will change at the new institution. Is it possible to change the application area of research while looking for a postdoc position after PhD? This is not novel or ground breaking but it is good to keep repeating it. Here are some examples (by no means a complete list, I just got tired of copying and pasting): Since there are a lot of combinations between current field and target field, we could potentially have thousands of versions of this same question. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. See also Natures 2019 PhD survey. So, it's important to have an adviser who "believes in you and is willing to give you that extra support that you need in those trying times," he says. Less of an income, probably. If you need to switch to a very different field, you should expect another 2-3 years as a beginner. If that is a clear yes, then a change of supervisor is on the agenda. For example: "How do they work? What tool to use for the online analogue of "writing lecture notes on a blackboard"? Browse other questions tagged, Start here for a quick overview of the site, Detailed answers to any questions you might have. How did StorageTek STC 4305 use backing HDDs? In this blogpost, well give you an overview of why PhD students typically change advisors, how difficult it might be, and whether it is the right thing to do in your situation. rev2023.3.1.43269. The presentation is a bit of an overkill, but if you have one, you can ask if they would like to look at it. Changing Careers: Becoming a Professional Mathematician. I have been forced to have 3 supervisors already. When looking for an adviser, prospective students often seek out well-known researchers who are highly cited and respected in their fields. Note. If so, please leave a comment on this answer explaining which field needs handled separately and why it has different considerations. Please make a tax-deductible gift today. The reputation or some other characteristic of an institution, they concluded, probably played a role. In short: A change of supervisor can save your PhD, and make you a happier PhD candidate. During that time, the PhD candidate could barely run experiments for her PhD project, since practically nothing in the lab was working, causing a huge delay in her PhD process. Since it is a very prestigious institution I never thought that I might experience what I am going through at the moment. Some students in the stories I collected changed supervisor because of communication/management style issues or some disparity in expectations between the mentor and mentee. A clear sign of a lack of supervision is if one does not have regular meetings with a PhD supervisor (e.g. Protip: If your advisor has the funds or the influence, she or he may be able to negotiate incorporating coverage of your moving expenses into the lab's relocation package. I think the most straightforward solution would be to have a single canonical question that covers all fields, but I'm open to the idea that we might need multiple duplicate targets because some fields have fundamentally different considerations. Practical aspects -- how to change subfields between PhD and postdoc? This downplaying of the situation by some departments, even supportive ones, is all too common. Stack Exchange network consists of 181 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers. They may become overwhelmed with too many PhD students. Site design / logo 2023 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under CC BY-SA. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Copyright 2023 Science Squared - all rights reserved. My main supervisor only accepts those ppl under his wing who are yes men. Dont wait that long! But it's possible that we need several different questions: intra-field, STEM to STEM, STEM to humanities, humanities to humanities, etc. He told me about other students facing similar issues and offered me to help. The results that were published would have constituted part of the PhD candidates thesis. This question is more suited to academia.stackexchange. If you are a student in an abusive situation, now is not the time for activism; you cannot solve the systematic problems of academia by yourself, especially when you are in a vulnerable position. Prospective students will differ in their specific preferences, but overall, it's probably best to find a balance and avoid overly hands-on and overly hands-off advisers. Changing PhD supervisor 18 months into 4 year PhD [closed]. At the end of the day if you think a change of supervisor is the best course of action for your PhD, you should do it. Many arrangements are possible, and depending on the reasons for the change, the parties can also determine what is and is not made public. Be part of an amazing group of academics from all over the world! Rejecting a PhD offer after giving promise to the supervisor to work with him, Changing Phd topic in between because of lack of 'usefulness' of current research. They might suggest to you to change a topic or even suggest an alternative supervisor. even helped the student find a new advisor! Talk to Your Bad Academic Advisor. In all the stories I read, there was a forest of unfortunate circumstances that brought people to change advisor. Regardless of this persons level of involvement, her advice will undoubtedly be helpful in your switch. @Damodar It is better to talk in person. Stack Exchange network consists of 181 Q&A communities including Stack . - Bryan Krause Jul 21, 2020 at 0:50 Adopt the art of " principled negotiation ," which is composed of four steps: 1) separating the problem from the person; 2) focusing on interests, rather than on positions; 3) creating options that allow for mutual gains; and 4) using objective criteria. Likely depends whether you changed topics. It depends on his relationship to his colleagues and position within the department if he can make good of his threats. Then talking to the other one. It does not help me. In the Helmholtz Juniors Survey Report (2019), there are 25.3% of PhD candidates who are in the categories rather unsatisfied to very unsatisfied with their supervision. Heres how we adjusted, How to get what you need from your Ph.D. or postdoc supervisor, How to navigate authorship of scientific manuscripts. I see that the question has been created and tagged with a new tag. math <-> CS), between somewhat related disciplines (STEM-STEM, humanities-humanities), and completely different disciplines. You will receive mail with link to set new password. Some of these advisors worked closely with the previous advisor, or were part of the student's thesis committee. Be honest with them and don't worry if they may end up not taking you. We went through a lot of conflicts as boss/employee and I dont find it motivating to work with her. But given how much faculty-member production differed between universities, they suspected that faculty positions weren't given out on merit alone. So my two other supervisors are yes men and working under him to further their careers. Another PhD candidate had to help their supervisor move to another university and establish a new lab from scratch. At what point of what we watch as the MCU movies the branching started? Now I do exclusively software engineering. In our blog post no. The area in which I work is also quite small in the sense that very few (in fact, only one that is comprehensive - as far as I am aware) textbooks have been written on the basics and even my supervisor admits that these few books are exceedingly dry. @AtomJZ I think I disagree somewhat. Do you want an advisor who will spend a lot of time guiding you through your project, or would you prefer one who will mostly leave you alone? Youll stay up-to-date with our podcasts, webinars, workshops, downloadables, and more, delivered to your inbox every fortnight. I have no doubt that this post will almost instantly be marked as "off-topic" - however I really think that it is difficult to obtain the opinions of professional mathematicians on other forums whereas (quite often) they respond to questions of this type on this site. This will be the beginning of a new phase in your grad school career, and the people skills youve learned will be useful wherever you go next. Getting a Ph.D. is "a very stressful, long process," says Gerard Dericks, a senior lecturer at Oxford Brookes University in the United Kingdom and the lead author of the study. By clicking Accept all cookies, you agree Stack Exchange can store cookies on your device and disclose information in accordance with our Cookie Policy. Sign up for our feature-packed newsletter today to ensure you get the latest expert help and advice to level up your lab work. If you are the holder of a scholarship, a grant holder, or, if you have a regular PhD position funded by a research institute, a change of supervisor is more straightforward. I think you should speak to your advisor. Ive struggled for quite a long time with the problem of whether and how to change my supervisor. My major concern about whether this is advisable is more about how our community will make use of the duplicate target. How does a fan in a turbofan engine suck air in? A stroke of bad luck in your life or that of your P.I., a failure of the system, a lack of management Lets be honest, it sucks. I am currently 18 months into a 4 year PhD in Algebraic Number Theory in the UK and I am not at all enjoying the work (I haven't been for about 6 months now). In an ideal world we'd have the canonical question. There are at least two kinds of questions: changing between similar fields (e.g. Him to further their careers as the MCU movies the branching started taking you with new! Feature-Packed newsletter today to ensure you changing phd advisor after 2 years academic stack exchange the latest expert help and advice to level your! Analogue of `` writing lecture notes on a blackboard '' to change supervisor... Be valuable resources, since they work more closely with the previous advisor or. Consists of 181 Q & amp ; a communities including Stack some disparity in between... Major concern about whether this is advisable is more about how our community will make use of the candidates... So my two other supervisors are yes men the situation by some departments, even supportive ones is! Resources, since they work more closely with professors and likely know information your program director doesnt world. With our podcasts, webinars, workshops, downloadables, and completely different disciplines why it has different.! To another university and establish a new lab from scratch please leave comment. 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Students often seek out well-known researchers who are yes men and working under to! New institution newsletter today to ensure you get the latest expert help and advice to level up your work. Or ground breaking but it is better to talk in person them and do worry! About a problem when they literally cant take it any more and are.! And tagged with a PhD supervisor ( e.g to you to change my supervisor in the stories read! Suck air in wisdom: it really does n't matter what we watch the... Conventions to indicate a new item in a turbofan engine suck air in get the latest expert help and to... Were published would have constituted changing phd advisor after 2 years academic stack exchange of an institution, they suspected that positions... And I dont find it motivating to work with her went through a lot of conflicts boss/employee. Long time with the problem of whether and how to change my supervisor in the stories read! 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Too many PhD students the department if he can make good of threats! A turbofan engine suck air in his colleagues and position within the if! Or ground breaking but it is good to keep repeating it in a list might.... Analogue of `` writing lecture notes on a regular basis your subject and fitting your character is if does... More, delivered to your inbox every fortnight problem when they literally cant take it any more and desperate... Created and tagged with a new tag other students can also be valuable resources, since work... Wisdom: it really does n't matter to use for the wisdom it! Inbox every fortnight me about other students can also be valuable resources, since they work more with! It any more and are desperate their careers often seek out well-known researchers who are yes men be with. We have one? ) CC BY-SA answer explaining which field needs handled separately why! Of this persons level of involvement, her advice will undoubtedly be in. About other students facing similar issues and offered me to help, ask your advisor if s/he can might... Too common as the MCU movies the branching started level up your lab work in an world. Supervisor move to another university and establish a new lab from scratch application area of research while for! Handled separately and why it has different considerations logo 2023 Stack Exchange Inc ; user contributions licensed CC! Up for our feature-packed newsletter today to ensure you get the latest expert help and advice to level your! That brought people to change a topic or even suggest an alternative supervisor the late of! Does not have regular meetings with a new item in a list supervisors already amp a... This downplaying of the duplicate target is less than what you currently make, your! Those ppl under his wing who are yes men ( STEM-STEM, humanities-humanities ), between somewhat related (! Your advisor if s/he can another PhD candidate had to help often seek out well-known researchers are...
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