Signup date: 13 May 2011 at 7:45pm
Last login: 13 May 2011 at 7:45pm
Post count: 4
Hi there. I was very unhappy about my PhD project. I had to talk to my adviser and pray to let me go. Luckily, my adviser is a very kind man. Though he told me that it could turned out very bad for me, like with some of his friends. I did go. I graduated with MS. I am currently looking to another position and start from the very beginning. Not sure it will work. People rarely understand when you leave one PhD project and look for another one. But I enjoied my life after I stopped to do my PhD project which I almost start to hate.
Oh my Gosh, Karika - U R not alone!!!
Supervisors from hell are all over the place! I had by myself a supervisor from the hell and currently one of my friends has one who does not provide any feedback. First my suggestion is to calm down about the feedback, train yourself that U R not the person your supervisor thinks at the first place. However, U situation is dangerous. Having bad relationships with a supervisor will diminish any significance of you being at graduate school. So, looking for another lab/supervisor could be a good idea, but there is no guarantee u will not run into another vile creature. Look for mental etc help in your university, talk to other students (but not labmates!) and better to your university counselor (if your university has one). Do not afraid - go to other "higher" people and ask for their suggestions and help. They will teach you how to avoid conflicts - ultimately destroying your future. Unfortunately, there are no laws PIs have to follow so they just unpunishly harass and will harass their students.
In my case I had much more advanced evil happened. My PI wanted to punish me for not wanting to work for her for free (she wanted me not to graduate, but work on additional project for her PhD student - I was a MS and was paying for myself). As the punishment she took the unfinished project I have conceived to another student, then tried to took my authorship at all.
My PI became mean the same as yours after some time I have worked in her lab. In our lab we had another student similarly "destroyed" by our PI. At first I did not believe it and thought that that student did something wrong. Now it is obvious for me that the PI played the same dirty game with both of us and we could not really do anything about. Yet, I was not experienced, I thought I could explain my PI that she is not right, I expressed my disagreement. Stop! Do not try to do it, do not reply your PI with ANYTHING! PIs from hell consider students to be their slaves, they do consider students not having the right to talk and especially having their own opinion. Go to other people above the PI. Do ask to help you and teach you how to avoid conflicts and survive till your graduation. If U express at least some disagreement to your PI this will give your PI the right to blame you for being uncooperative and a conflict person. On this basis she/he may reject to write a recommendation for you or write in the recommendation that you are not the "team player" (and totally forget that u did something useful in the lab). This is the true story. Be aware. Good luck!
(down);-)
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