Thank you so much for your reply, Satchi. Yes the incompetent and non-existent supervisor is the same person. As for my rut, it's just so difficult teaching myself a new subject, social science research methods and statistics/SPSS all at the same time, while also learning Chinese and not to mention working. I really can't afford to stop work because I'm not very young. As for my future, I want to teach adults and start a consulting business because Taiwan/China is still very hot. However, it's almost impossible to break-in unless you have those three letters after your name in this culture. In addition, I am in a relationship with a local so I want a career that's stable and long-term rather than getting visas and working for English cram schools with below-average pay for the rest of my life. Thank you for your encouragement and I will try to find a tutor.

My situation is quite different from others posted. I am an foreigner working on my PhD in Taiwan. Originally I was an licensed educator working at international schools. Burnt out, frustrated with parents and bored with the lack of mental stimulation, I decided to quit and instead focus on studying Mandarin for a year. After my Mandarin was at acceptable levels a friend convinced me that I should apply for a PhD in an up-and-coming field - Technology & Management. With Taiwan being the one of the leading mfgs in technology in the world, I was excited to start possibly a new career, however, I still had a strong urge to teach. After applying, I was accepted and given a generous scholarship. But the only problem was that the program was new and unorganized with only a few instructors. Once I already started the program(after talking with the one professors who had research interests the most similar to mine and agreed to work with me), I was told that what I wanted to study would have to be changed. Luckily, the more I study my new research topic the more I enjoy it, but the problem is I don't have a background in it, in addition to my having limited research method and statistics skills. Now, I am currently looking for a tutor who speaks good English, which shouldn't be difficult since 60% of Taiwanese got their PhDs in the UK, AUS or US, but of course everyone is ridiculously busy with no time. Now 1 1/2 years into the program I am ready to quit. I have an incompetent and non-existent supervisor, I have no support other than from my classmates who are equally clueless. I would quit but I want to teach at the college/university level and stay in this country. Time passes quickly because I am very involved in studying Mandarin, tutoring for extra $ and being involved in my speech club. I have only another 1 1/2 years left of my funding, so I need to get motivated and working. I've bought so many books and try to teach myself, but I burn out quickly teaching myself everything. Oh, I should mention that my supervisor is very nice. He has given me great amounts of fabulous data that I can use (which saves tons of time on my part), and I am currently working on a paper that should definitely get published if I find enough articles for the lit review (which is exhausting given the horrible database I have to work with). Graduating shouldn't be as difficult as previous posts I've read on this site, but how do I get out of this rut???!!! I wish I had a clue or could get a push - HELP! Thanks for your support!