I am a phd student in the US, and we have a slightly different model than UK. we dont come in the program with a mentor. So I am on the way to start my dissertation. They are two ppl in my department who can chair my dissertation. But i have some issues here.
Option A: is Assoc prof. She is somewhat well-known in her area, and publishes a lot. Her H-index is already 18 or smthng. When i came in the program, I was assigned to her as an RA. We are assigned as an RA for annual basis. and every year these assignments are revised if the need be. so after a year, i was assigned to somebody new in the department. He was an Asst prof who was recently hired. This reassignment made me think that she didnt want to continue working with me. Instead she selected another person M (my colleague) as her RA. i think she thinks M is much more brilliant. anyway, though i was disappointed, I didnt let it affect my morale.
in usa we are supposed to explore working with e one, and it is not necessary to restrict yrself to one faculty, so i tried to continue working with her as well as with the new faculty. During this time, she didnt show much interest in my projects. well maybe, she didnt see potential in them.
Option b: is a new hire. is an Asst prof. fresh out of PHD. he is from a good program. I hv been working with him for a yr. I like his style. he is v respectful , is organized, has a good network, and does not give u tough time.
I talked to few phd students and they r saying that i shld work with option B cause the chairs name matter when getting a job. also option b has no experience of charing a dissertation, some ppl are saying i shld treat him as a 6th yr phd student. he may delay my phd cz of lack of experience. howver, one of a v senior faculty in my department is encouraging me to work with option b.
what do you people suggest
option a: she has name, but she has shown no interest in me so far. i also feel that A is very particular abt who to support. Maybe i am biased, but i think she knows she is successful, therefore she thinks students shld prove to win her support and show potential. she will not give u time or support if she dznt see you as promising investment.
I asked her few months back if she will chair my dissertation, she said yes. But she dznt in general give me the same support as she gives to other student she likes. Maybe my she is not fond of my working style . For example, when i went to her for advice on committee members she said yea whoever i selected are fine. But later i found out, that she had told M to not have one of the faculty members that i also had on the committee. some students told me that she dznt generally recommend that faculty member to her studnets cz he gives lot of trouble in signing off dissertations. I was secretly disappointed that why didnt she guide me abt it. so there are several examples, where she does not guide me as an advisor shld. In my opinion, the reason is that she dznt see me as a promising
