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Really worried and not sure what to do!
N

Sorry if there are loads of threads in a similar style to this one but I'm at a bit of a loose end!

I'm coming to the end of my first year science PhD but I'm really worried I haven't done enough work.  There have been multiple problems this year that I wasn't anticipating that have slowed my work down. Firstly, my supervisor took maternity leave for 4 months shortly after I started (in the November when I started in the October) - no she wasn't pregnant and I didn't expect it, she adopted a child!  Needless to say, I still got on with my lit review and felt like I'd made some progress.

However, when my supervisor returned she asked why I hadn't been getting on with lab work - I couldn't get on with lab work. Frustratingly whilst she'd been away, I had collected samples but I could not get a response out of the lab staff to book time to analyse them and two of the instruments I wanted to use were broken.  despite asking multiple times for them to be fixed (and I eventually started recording when I asked) nothing was done about it. It is now June and I still don't have any real data as there is now a massive backlog in the labs with other people needing to use instruments!! 

I'm feeling quite disheartened particularly as I found out from another student that I had to write an end of year report (I seem to have missed out on things like the research handbook as my supervisor was away at the start). I emailed my supervisor about this a month ago, she never got back to me(!) so I've just handed her something I thought would be right but I'm really worried it's not enough work. I have published a paper this year but it was from my MSc work, not my PhD work.

I've always wanted to do a PhD but I feel I'm not getting the support (from the lab and my supervisor) that I need. I'm not sure whether to cut my losses and leave.  Not sure what to do, any advice? I'm really disappointed as I did both my undergrad and MSc in this department and I feel like they know me well and I know them well but no one is helping!

Thanks.