So nearly a year in to my doctoral research and I'm really enjoying it. Been given a lot of freedom and a lot of avenues to pursue which I'm now starting to pull together into something a lot more coherent as I enter the final few months of my first year. I like my labmates, who are all helpful and feel like I have a productive working relationship with my supervisor. However, my advisor is a different story. He's a PI from a different department who is supposed to 'provide detached, critical assessment' of my work and suggest improvements I could make or different things I might try. However, in our meetings he does little but say what I'm doing seems like great work and I'm also fairly certain he's merely feigning interest in my project. Whilst the flattery is nice, I know that I could make improvements and it would be nice to have someone who is willing to actually think about my work properly, someone who could have real input.

So obviously I want rid of him but how do I do that without 'offending' this Professor? And, moreover, how on earth do I get a feel for whether my new advisor (who I'll have to decide on pretty soon) will actually be useful to me?

How about talking to your advisor and requesting - very politely - that he give you some more concrete critical feedback?

I agree with metabanalysis - try talking to the adviser s/he may not be aware of the level of feedback you were expecting as everyone is different. If that doesn't work, have a chat to your primary supervisor.

I think this is the point: that's just how he is. I'm quite good friends with one of his own students who tells me he really is a bit of a sycophant who is too quick to praise and too slow to criticise.

I'll try to talk to him anyway.

Charmless,

Do his remarks and opinions have any bearing on on your end of first year / mid-point progression review? Does ie have a formal or official role in your ongoing assessment?

I was supposed to be assigned a personal tutor separate from my supervisors during my own PhD. During the four years of my registration I don't think I ever talked to him. Did it have any effect? Nope!!!

I know you have a different set-up to me, but if he's not directly relevant to your work and studies can you not just keep contact down to a necessary minimum? Do that rather than replacing him and you avoid rocking the boat so to speak.

Beyond first year / mid-point progression, you'll probably find his importance to your work and studies subsides anyway.

Ian (Mackem_Beefy)

Yes, he has to be present at all of my progress review meetings (4 per annum). Has to approve all of the reports I submit and agree on a 'grade' (not that this means anything) with my primary supervisor.

If it was just that I wouldn't be worried, I'd just let him keep on not really caring because that stuff's just a load of form filling to keep the funding body happy. I'm just accutely aware that many of my peers have secondary supervisors who are truly engaged in their project and having valuable input into it. Someone who can see things from a different perspective to you and your supervisor has to be a good thing at times and I suppose I feel I'm missing out on that.

I guess I was lucky my predecessor was around for the whole of my PhD. Although he kept his distance as he'd had enough of the project, he and a another lad (unfortunately a Mag) was helpful in pointing out who was useful and who I should keep at arms length. My second supervisor was happy to hide away and once I'd picked up he was only interested in a minimum of input (admittedly he was excellent with grammar), I was able to crack on in close co-operation with my primary supervisor who really did know his stuff.

I guess, however, everyone's experiences are different and if his input and assessment are important, then you need to talk to him to ensure he makes a critical input into your project. If you do need to offload him, then do as a last resort as rocking to boat within the academic environment can make progress more difficult, if you upset people you do need to work with. That said, if he admits he's too busy to make a significant input then a more amicable route to a replacement adviser / second supervisor may be possible. Reading between the lines, that may be the case.

No-one is really taught how to supervise and many have to find their own way (having their own varying ideas), resulting in variability of supervision across the academic sector. However, you seem to have a thorough first supervisor / adviser and that is critical to the success of your project.

Ian (Mackem_Beefy)

Wow, in an unexpected turn of events the Professor in question is to leave soon and take up a position at Oxford University. Problem solved!

I do wonder if recently at least he knew this was coming up and consequently just went through the motions and as regards his current duties, really didn't give a $#!+. :-)

Ian (Mackem_Beefy)

Seems likely to me. Even if it wasn't that he just didn't care but that he was distracted. I guess moving labs in the middle of a research programme is a bit of a faff on.

As I say, I'm good friends with one of his own students and she says the group's being split with some being left behind here and some moving with him. So he's going to have to commute between here and Oxford until those left behind finish up. On top of that, his research assistant, who has been with him for 10+ years, had been threatening to just quit the lab altogether. His student who has supposed to start in October has told him to "P*ss off." essentially, saying that he didn't apply to do his research at Oxford. Seems like a lot of stress!

So yeah, I can understand if his mind has been elsewhere!

Issue resolved. Former advisor has left. First meeting with new advisor today. Totally engaged in my seminar and stopping me to ask questions throughout (I was so happy!), had loads of suggestions afterwards and even had the resolve to question why I was doing part of my work. I had to admit to her it was a 'pet' experiment of mine that my supervisor was just letting me indulge in because it was interesting for both of us. So she said 'Convince me it's worthwhile at our next meeting in three months or I'll strongly suggest you drop it.' She's also made it clear she's always available for advice, not just in our enforced meetings. As are her lab members. And I'm free to join them/present at their lab meetings.

I think we got to the bottom of what the issue was with my old advisor as well. His student who I'm friends with and hasn't moved with him has told me that she's worked out he's a self-absorbed wanker who only sees his lab members as a way of advancing his own career/fame within the community. So the chances of him actually caring about what I was doing were slim to begin with.

Either way, it's all sorted now and my new advisor is fantastic!