Hi, windowsill,

Thanks for your encouragement.. I can't change supervisor, it's far too late. The bit you mentioned on "the stupid phd student wants that we hold their hands all the time", yup, that has already happened... I have been told that I am not independent enough, etc... Anyway, I don't want to go on about how bad they are. I just want to know how to motivate myself. I know there are courageous PhD students out there who persevered even with everything was against them and still emerged with a degree in hand. I was hoping to hear how they did it.

Sounds like you and buru had it tough as well. I guess we all need good luck.

Hi, buru. I meet my supervisors probably monthly, but because my research is not their area of expertise, they have little interest. Due to this, they cannot give me the feedback I need. Therefore, I went down several rabbit holes before I fine tuned my aims, resulting in lost time. The other students who are working in their direct area of expertise are well looked after with frequent feedback via emails at least. So, mine is an isolated case.

I do have structure and defined chapters now, but I do not have enough time left to carry out my experiments. I hope to be able to secure more time but it will all depend on the outcome of my meeting with my coordinator in a few weeks. And yes, I am in my final year. Most people as close to the end as me have completely stopped doing experiments. I still have a mountain to do. I feel that all seem hopeless. The loneliness and the shame of a possible failure are in my face.

Thanks for your reply, windowsill. I have been through all that guideline thing before. Spoken to my then PhD admin/coordinator who asked me to speak to my independent assessors, who asked me to speak to my supervisors again and if the problem is not resolved, then BOTH my supervisor and me can ask for their help (never happen). I did speak to my graduate school a year ago as well. Their advice for me was to quit and start over. As that meant losing my scholarship which I fought so hard for, I could not follow that advice.

I am still hanging on, albeit with the depression. I just don't know how to make me complete this.

Definitely the job! Good luck!

An inexperienced supervisor is not necessarily bad. My friend under a first time supervisor completed his PhD with 2 publications and the most superb supervision one can expect. He also got a job as a post doc 6 months before graduation. On the other hand, it could be really bad if your first time supervisor is really busy trying to prove himself to his colleagues and doing a lot of his own thing, completely ignoring you/treating you as a first in line of his collection of students aka guinea pig, and you having to slough it through solo. In this case, it is better to leave then to be destroyed soul wise.

I agree with buru. Ask for those who had contact with your supervisor on a professional level and see what they think of him. Good luck!

Congrats, Dr Tulip!

The amount of support you receive depends on the type of supervisor you have. If you have a hands off/absent supervisor, you could perhaps expect extremely little. If you have a more involved supervisor, you can perhaps expect someone who could go over your main thesis aims/concept, experimental design and suggest areas of improvement, bearing in mind that you have to suggest the ideas first. If you have a hands off supervisor, I do suggest you look for a mentor who can give you close guidance ASAP as going solo is an extremely painful and time-consuming process. Good luck!

Hi, elnino. I am just wondering, sometimes we are worried because we push ourselves too hard, and other times it is because your gut feeling is telling you that something is wrong. Have you spoken to someone outside your group, another experienced professor/mentor so that he/she can give you an impartial thoughts about your progress? I stress on "outside", someone with no links to your group. If there is reason for concern, then you can always suggest extra help/co-advisor be brought into the team. If there is no reason, then you can put your mind at peace.

Hi, everyone. My PhD has been a roller coaster ride. My supervisors were mostly absent and uninterested in my project and my project was ill-defined from the start. Whilst I have managed to improve my aims and story, I am running out of time, having been told to present my data in the next few weeks. I have two chapters of results and was informed (I appreaciate honesty) by my graduate school coordinator that I may be downgraded to MPhil subject to outcome of my presentation. I am feeling depressed and unable to focus, although I have documents and slides to prepare.

How do I motivate myself to pull through this difficult time? And what should I do if I am downgraded?

Hello. I am in my third year, generating little data that probably is not even worth MPhil. My supervisors are inexperienced and spends little time discussing my project with me. I planned and did what I think was right. Due to this, something that I had worked on which was meant for my second chapter was completely dropped, since the research questions were not framed properly. I am discouraged from approaching others for help. I have lost all motivation for this project.

Should I stay or should I quit? I have received a scholarship for this and know that if I let go, I may not receive it again. I am sad that it has come to this since I have worked so hard.

Tru