Hello everyone.. I need support as I think I have lost my confidence through my graduate studies. I started my masters with a very famous supervisor and worked really hard for two years and although I defended on-time but my supervisor did not agree to publish my paper as he thought it is not worthy. I decided to continue my PhD with another supervisor. I searched a lot and asked around to make sure I find a good supportive supervisor. I found a supervisor, who is not that famous but everyone agreed that he is a very nice and supportive prof. I have started for 5 months now. First of all the project that he had in mind have been already done so I had to find my own project. He said the topic is new for him so he cant generate new ideas and i have to do a literature review to see what we can do. For 4 months I was reading and reading until I found a research question that I can work on. I am really nervous since it seems that I have to do all the work by myself and he wont be any help except providing the money. I am the only PhD student and no one else is there to help me. I see other graduate students who talk to their supervisors frequently and do experiments with other lab-mates and has a lot of help and I just feel numb and scared. Also, since I have no publications from my masters, I feel so insecure and inadequate and I think I have lost my confidence. I just need to know if anyone have been in my position and what they have done......
I am not too sure what relevance publishing from your Masters is.
I would forget all about that and focus purely on your PhD.
I would have thought it highly unlikely that PhD students are working on lab stuff as a pair.
They are presumably working on their own stuff.
You should, in my opinion, want it that way.
A PhD is a lonely pursuit.
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