And sorry if this sounds harsh but as there are many people posting on this forum seeking support with major mental health problems, please cut out the dodgy mental health diagnoses about your supervisor. It's not necessary or appropriate and may put vulnerable people off seeking advice.[/quote]

I think you are being a tad harsh here. Some supervisors can be arseholes.. Ive known a few friends who suffer the same fate. Supervisors with mental issues do exist.

Hi tudor. Firstly i would like to thank you for commenting on most of my threads and giving me your take on things.

I can tell you a few things of what to expect since i had done something similar. I was doing undergrad fyp under a particular prof but i switched labs when i embarked on my phd. Things didnt go very well.

The previous supervisor had talked badly about me to most of his circle of friends in ntu.Being the top student in my undergrad course means that your face is known. My reputation took a huge hit. Given the description of your previous supervisor, you can expect something similar. I just hope that the new supervisor is not too close or doing collaboration with your previous supervisor as that would mean he or she will likely trust your previous supervisor's word more than yours!

Just try to keep a low profile. Only attend conferences in which you find very useful or relevant. And importantly be at your utmost best when building rapport with new colleagues as it can be a psychological boost. You might feel a sense of guilt here and there after some time but remind yourself the kind of shit you went through under your previous supervisor.

And plan your next career outside of the current institution if possible. Because believe me, reputation matters in academia.

Congrats on having the balls to jumo ships. It aint easy!

Do people tend to judge if a PhD candidate mention that upon graduation, he/she is aiming for a teaching position in polytechnics? I often get that 'why do you aim so low' or 'why do you even choose to do a PhD even'.

is this thought about career option not something to be shared amongsts your coursemates?

the term 'student' is meant to describe someone who generally is not on the 'same level' as you. In my lab at least, the postdocs would refer phd candidates as students. They will go like, ''ahh its normal for him to make a mistake, because he is still a student'. But between PhD candidates, a student is an undergrad.

Does this thing only occur in my lab?

Im one year into my PhD which has been stressful because of the toxic lab environment and the fact that i was asked to come up with my own project and to DESIGN from scratch a device that can deliver mechanical force to cells.

Was rocky in the beginning but i managed to get the device working and got some data here and there. A senior in the lab advised me to move on to the next step of the project asking me why am i wasting my time at this step when its already showing u the results you want to see. Move along kinda thing so i kinda agree.

So i showed my prof the data and the next future step but my prof suggested that i dont rush through things. Dont be too eager is what she said.

How does one evaluate whether he or she is going at the right pace or not?

seems like you feel stuck on a never-ending mundane cycle. Well, you dont need to go overseas to enjoy a holiday. Just a cheap trip somewhere near your place might do the trick.

has anyone tried steroids to boost motivation levels?

i obtained the highest ever teaching score rating for a tutorial that i had taught, beating other professors. Is there any chance my supervisor will see me as a threat?

Do you ever get the feeling that when you first enter into the lab, people will take you lightly, doubt your capabilities? For example, when you cant get a lab result at the bench and people straightaway question how exactly do you do it? Like it must be bad technique kind of thing

Most like me dont have publications prior entry. But its a bonus if competition for places are tight

Im asking this because if 1 or 2 years in, if the projectbis
working out fine then its great. But what happens if the project meets a dead end? Then starting a new project few years in can be stressful with the perception that you need to make up for lost time. I have seniors feeling slumped 3 years into their project

On the other doing projects might slow down both projects but there is a safety net there.

Any seniors out there willing to share how many projects do? And if so are they somewhat related? Same experiment system just different research question? Or 2 different experiment systems ?

In my school, clearing TA hours by teaching tutorials are the worse kind of effort to returns ratio. You get to clear 3 hours(from weekly preparation of stuff discussed in tutorial) plus the actual teaching hours. Ive tasked to teach 3 separate tutorial questions and although it requires a of effort im taking it as an opportunity to grow.

I had spent 6 months on the first project but shifted my attention to a new project only last week. I am getting encouraging data that suggest my experimental design is working, but am I really far back in time?

Hi im in a big dilemma here. I hope you guys can give me an advise/opinion on this matter.

I am 5 months into a phd program in a biology field. The program is designed for 4 years. The beginning of my phd has been quite a struggle for some reasons. And i will state those briefly below.

Firstly, i am the only gender and racial minority in the lab. These has led me to be ostracized to some extent in lab as my lab members would form social circles and speak in languages i could not understand. Apart from not being able to colborate(doesnt hurt as much if my main focus is just to finish own project) but that would mean me generating less papers. Also generally the first gear is the formative years of a grad student. I find it hard to approach seniors for advise or to teach me certain lab techniques. It doesnt help that my lab do not practice mentorships,ie you have to take initiative to form bonds with people such that they are willing to impart knowledge to you. There is no assigned trainer on this. While my seniors did not have problem learning, i am faced with this barrier because of being isolated.

The social isolation doesnt only involve alienation but also microaggression as well. I did once ask for technical advise once but when i didnt get technique right on the first try, i was shouted at. This incident has affected my confidence greatly and often feel anxious being in the lab itself while doing my experiments.

My PI is very nice butbshe is very hands off. When i came in,i was told to read up and up with a research question which can be anything under the sun. I felt very aimless.

Is switching lab advisable at this point?

Is it a case of bad supervision if my professor told me to read up on any research field(bioscience) and to come up with a research question that would interest me? I feel that my coursemates are a project but i have to come up with one. This is frustrating.