Thanks so much for the advice.

Well, after getting extremely nervous about it all, I asked if it would be possible to have regular meetings...and he replied that he thought that would be "an excellent idea" - couldn't believe it! Anyway, we set a date for the following week, and I was very relieved. However, a few days later, he sent an email out to me and the other PhD student in the group, letting us know that we would be having group meetings, and that the first one would be on the same day/same time that we had planned to have the meeting. So, my supervisory meetings seem to have turned into group meetings. Ok, we are a very small group (3!), and I think it is really good that we do have some sort of group meeting every now and then to make sure we are still communicating, but I really wanted to be able to discuss MY PhD - preferably without the other PhD student there.

I just don't have any idea where my PhD is going - his ideas seem to change every week, and they are always ideas for 'the group' rather than for my PhD or for the other student's PhD. For example, he will tell me about one experiment that I will be doing, and then later it turns out that he has asked the other student to do it instead (this is always happening). It would just make it so much easier if tasks were officially divided up so we know who is responsible for what.

I just really want to have some structure and plan for my PhD, and to be able to discuss MY work, and MY scientific development, privately. Do you think I should go back and ask for this, or am I expecting too much?

Sorry for the mammoth post (and for ranting!) - this is all just really stressing me out, and I'm feeling very uncertain of my actual chance of completion when I don't know what to complete!

I'm just hoping for a bit of advice, please.
I started my PhD 6 months ago, but feel a bit lost. I see my supervisor every few days, but these meeting are always very short and impromptu and we only discuss exactly what I am doing at that point. I have never had a planned, scheduled meeting where we discuss the outline of the PhD, the plan for the next few months, weeks, days etc. I really want to be productive and make some progress but I am wasting a huge amount of time because I don't know what I should be working on.

I would really love a scheduled meeting once every fortnight or so, when we could discuss what I should work on and then I could just get on with it rather than wasting days at a time hanging around looking for him. I want to take control of my work and be more independent but it is not possible when I don't know what he has planned for the group, what equipment he has ordered, what grant applications he has made etc.

Do you think I should just come out and ask for this? I am worried it could come across as rude, when it is clearly not his style to supervise like this, and he is probably not aware there is a problem. Or should I just try to get more information out of him when I do see him?

Any advice very gratefully received!

Hi,
I'm looking for a systematic way to store and access papers on my computer, and if it could be used to insert references into documents, that would be good too. What do you recommend? I know of 'endnote' for word, and 'jabref' for latex, but is there anything that can be used with both word and latex?
What do you use?
Thanks for any advice!
Cupcake1:-)

I am 10 months into my PhD (started last September) and am not enjoying it. I cannot decide whether to just stick with it or to change to a different topic (different department, different supervisor, possibly different uni) and am getting really stressed and depressed about the whole thing. I know that ultimately I need to decide what I want to do, but any advice would be much appreciated.

I have a good undergraduate degree in one field (physics) plus a significant amount of undergraduate research experience with a very well-respected group. However, I decided against staying with this group for a PhD as I wanted to do something applied. So after a lot of thought I decided to do a PhD in Medical Physics. However, it is becoming clear that my project is very different to how I thought it would be. I thought it would be applying my physics skills and interests to a relevant problem, but it is actually using the tool to investigate medical, physiological processes. It is a good PhD project, with very nice, attentive supervisors, but I just don't have any motivation to do the research as I don't find it interesting. I know that I don't want to work in this field after my PhD, but have received conflicting information about how easy it would be to transfer to another field for a first post doc position.

There have been a number of problems with my project that are on the point of being resolved, which also have had a negative effect on my motivation (I have spent weeks just waiting for access to patients, equipment etc) and have had a very unproductive year (from my point of view, my supervisors are not worried about this). I am very frustrated with being dependent on other people to do experiments, and feel very trapped that I cannot just go in the lab and get on with some experiments. I also know that another reason for my lack of motivation is that I don't have the knowledge and skills necessary to appreciate the project and research, but cannot seem to learn this or read due to lack of interest. I should add that up untill this year, I have been a very keen student with an excellent record, so its not that I am just lazy or not interested in research. More that I am frustrated with sitting about wasting time, coupled with the fact that I am not particularly interested in the research question.

I have found a position advertised at the same uni on the topic I did my masters project on, but it is a tiny group (group leader + 1 student) with no track record of publishing in the field. My current project is in a very well-respected group with great supervisors - I wonder how important is the reputation of the group versus personal interest in the topic.

I have discussed most of these issues at length with my supervisors, and they are being very supportive, but ultimately I have to arrive at a decision. I would really appreciate any advice from people who have been in similar situations.

Thanks very much - Cupcake