Your uni can be unhappy about you asking another person to become your primary supervisor. However, you can say that your ex primary supervisor gave up her rights when she withdrew from your project.

And so it is your right to get a new primary supervisor. I do not think that the uni can actually block you from getting a new primary supervisor when your old one actually gave up her position willingly.

So go and get the new one on board. The withdrawal of your former supervisor has worked in your favour, even though it was such a horrid thing for her to do.

Hi, classictea,

Happy to know you are 98% done on your thesis. That is exceptionally good.

Primary supervisor: Ok, so I don't know about the supervision laws in your country. However, my understanding is that my choice of supervisors are my rights as it is my PhD project. Can you insist to have the consenting other potential supervisor on board somehow? Beg for the new one to come on board.

Reference: If you can get the new supervisor on board, you can get him to write you your reference letter. Otherwise, I really won't count on your aweful ex-supervisor to write. While not ideal, I managed to get my first job without my supervisor's letter, so perhaps you could too.

Papers - You will have to include your ex-supervisor in there and submit the paper. However, if she causes issues, submit without her. My friend did this as his primary supervisor was blocking his paper on unreasonable and untrue grounds. His paper was accepted in the end.

Hi, statictraveller,

You sound like you are depressed, which is normal given your circumstance. Your primary supervisor, who is critical to your PhD, is leaving midway through your study and you are having concerns on how you will proceed without him/her.

Yes, it is definitely a good idea to speak to a counselor and get some advice on how to cope emotionally. It may also be good for you to talk to your postgrad coordinator and Grad School on how to cope after your current primary supervisor has left. I assume that a new primary supervisor has been identified? Or are you leaving with your supervisor and continuing at the new university?

Hi, Cat123,

I think you have all the reasons to jump ship to another supervisor. Pity that you can't take your funding with you, but it happens.

Is it possible for you to do teaching support work full time till you secure another PhD with funding opportunity?

Can you talk to Grad School, postgrad coordinator or Students Union on other potential Phd opportunities?

Hi, JCM,

I normally just say that "I am doing my corrections".

Hi, MissyL,

Do calm down. The skills from a PhD in Molecular Biology are in demand, so you should be alright.

Do surf the internet for resources on potential careers after PhD and align that with your personal interests. Would a research scientist position in a company interest you? Have a look at "Top 10 List Of Alternative Careers For PhD Science Graduates" (https://cheekyscientist.com/top-10-list-of-alternative-careers-for-phd-science-graduates/) and "What can I do with my PhD? Jobs outside academia" (https://targetpostgrad.com/advice/postgrad-and-your-career/what-can-i-do-with-my-phd-jobs-outside-academia).

In the mean time, yes take on temporary position to pay the bills, even if they are bar jobs. We still need to live whilst we are planning the bigger picture of our career.

All the best.

Hi, 323cjm,

I think that you should work on something that you have strong interests in. People perform best when they are doing something they enjoy.

I would suggest that you apply for jobs which you are interested in, regardless of whether they are in academia or industry. And as pm133 has pointed out, your decision doesn't need to be final. I know people who have jumped from academia to industry, and then came back to academia again. So, it is possible.

Hi, justagirl23345,

You just started your second year and your supervisors are pushing you to write up your thesis? You must have been a very busy bee in your first year to generate enough data in one year that is sufficient to show for 3-4 years of PhD work.

I agree with Pjlu that you may wish to consider taking up the Dean's offer to be your first supervisor. You still have 2-3 years of time left and you need good direct supervision to pull through and unfortunately your former primary supervisor can't really do that remotely. Having the Dean as your primary supervisor may also help you manoeuvre your way through politics as well.

The other option for you is to write up as Mphil and join your former first supervisor where he is under a new PhD project.

Have a think about things and decide what is best for you. Good luck.

Hi, melodie,

I am sorry you are facing many challenges both at a personal and PhD study level.

I think that your supervisor's suggestion of preparing a document with details of experiments, problems and possible solutions is a good one. You will need to incorporate that into your thesis anyway, so you might as well get started.

I think you have had very good advice here from counselling to writing method development chapters which I think you could consider. I would like to suggest that you sit down and draft the outline of your thesis (Chapter titles plus main headings for the chapter) to see if you have sufficient data to write up. I suspect that you do. Then, present that together with your other exp document to your supervisors and ask "Can I write up and finish my PhD?".

Now you get a job and do something that you enjoy after putting all those hard yards to get your PhD.

Hi, iwan,

Your posts on this website has mainly been on your PhD supervisor and lab environment. You have repeatedly questioned whether the supervisor, project, lab environment were worth you staying on.

Are you still with the same supervisor? I think you have to make a choice and accept the style of your supervisor, which may be less friendly (and maybe even less knowledgeable in your area) than you desire. This is especially since you have decided to continue on with her. Your pattern of constantly questioning whether relationships are healthy/ project is working will only cause you worry and can't be good for your mental health for the entire length of your PhD. Accept and focus on your results and future data rather than whether she likes / dislikes you.

Good luck.

Hi, Cat123,

Ideally you would have identified your new supervisor before you lodged your formal complaint. So, have you told your uni who your new supervisor(s) will be? If not, make it a priority to search for your new supervisor ASAP. Talk to other PhD students to see if their supervisor is looking for new students. Talk to the postgrad coordinator if there are PIs with grants looking for students. Find out who the new grant recipients are and approach them.

Your uni will need this information to process your change in supervision. I expect that you former supervisors will make it difficult for you to approach other PIs, so you may have to try people from a different institute in your uni.

Hi, Qzaman91,

There are unfortunately many science graduates who are unemployed or working in areas that are far below their level of education. I personally know PhD graduates, great ppl, but working as casual workers at factories and volunteers. There are science grads who are working in non-academic roles, but the chances of finding employment like that is highest when you just graduated from your first degree. You can still transition after you received your PhD, but that normally takes a bit more effort as unfortunately there are assumptions that PhD holders are harder to train and work along with (not necessarily true, but there are a few bad apples out there who ruin it for the many genuine ppl).

What sort of tasks are you referring to? Most tasks for academics requires significant input eg. supervising students, writing papers, writing grants, giving presentations at conferences, etc. It is hard to put monetary value per task. Would the person be paid per hour for doing the task including preparation? I am unsure how fair or feasible paying per piece of task is for academics, especially as a long term career.

emmawood - Which group are you referring to? I have never heard of such a group where you can join to be a freelance scientist. I understand that you can work as a bioinformatician or data scientist at home, but you still will have to visit the uni regularly to get the data and discuss the analysed results. You certainly cannot do your research experiments outside of the lab because 1) it is dangerous with some chemicals and 2) working in a non-controlled non-sterile environment produces inaccurate data. And your quote "There aren't that many scientists in the world" is unfortunately inaccurate. If we have so many in US alone ( https://nexus.od.nih.gov/all/2016/05/31/how-many-researchers/) think about the number globally.

Hi, awsoci,

The decision to stay in academia or not is yours to make. You will have to think carefully as your health has been impacted by your current job, and only you can decide if it is worth it.

On non-academic career, what sort of career are you thinking of? There are many jobs out there from patent attorney, science communicator, regulatory affairs, sales, product management, tech transfer, medical science liaison, industry scientist.... the list goes on. Each role has its own challenges and can be equally as rewarding. You just have to choose one that fits your interest and personality.

The KPI of non-academic career is different depending on the role, but for the majority, papers/publications are not important. Depending on role, you will be judged by eg. how well you work in a team, hit sales quota, no of new business relationships you build...

There will also need to be a massive change in attitude. Most ppl from the industry complain about the arrogance of some academics and their inability to work in a team (always wanting to do things their way). That is not true for everyone, but do understand that you will need to change your mind set as you are now working for another company and have to follow company rules, deadlines and corporate values.

If you decide to go down a non-academic pathway, you may wish to start looking for a job now as it takes months and up to one year to find your first non-academic role. Look up helpful websites like Versatile PhD and Cheeky Scientist for more information.

All the best