To keep things in perspective at this point, we should mention that the majority of PhD candidates are rather happy and satisfied with the supervision they receive. In most cases, a change of supervisor is possible, but there are a few things that need consideration. rev2023.3.1.43269. Much as you may want to yell your decision over the rooftops, announcing that youre leaving while in a heated argument with your advisor isnt going to make your transition any easier. When it comes to student satisfaction, the single most important element is adviser supportiveness, according to a study published this week in Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education. I think this is a fair canonical question but a bit fraught. Is just after your PhD a good time to switch your research area? This will not reflect the experience of all PhD students who change advisor. I like that! All rights reserved. What matters in a Ph.D. adviser? Supervisors may also be relieved that they can end a supervisory relationship with a PhD candidate they knew was unhappy with their guidance, and are glad that a colleague will take over. I need to either quit my Ph.D. or look for another supervisor. How to know if somebody else is also working on your problem? During the meeting, be proactive. Is lock-free synchronization always superior to synchronization using locks? In principle, this is a great way to counterbalance weaknesses of individuals and ensure a high quality of supervision overall. 2- Talk to new potential advisor in private. Dont make things worse than they already are. This question does not appear to be about research level mathematics within the scope defined in the help center. Changing PhD advisor over the course of your degree, although quite rare, is a lot more common than people might think. According to a 2015 study, 25% of U.S. institutions produce roughly three-quarters of all tenure-track faculty members in the three disciplines the team examined: computer science, business, and history. In this blogpost, well give you an overview of why PhD students typically change advisors, how difficult it might be, and whether it is the right thing to do in your situation. How does a fan in a turbofan engine suck air in? Don't deny the suggestions in a disrespectful or unprofessional way. If that supervisor fails to give good supervision, the PhD student flounders, and may be left with virtually no support. How much does the problem with your supervisor affect your ability to work, and your potential to do excellent research? But in a PhD program, your schedule becomes "whenever you find time to get your work done." In this case, the financing is independent from the supervisor. If you find yourself in this situation, take heart that youre not alone many, many students have switched labs, and done so successfully. Stack Exchange network consists of 181 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, . (If not, should we have one?). And if he's unhappy with you, he may not even want to stop you. Would it be possible for you to select another (additional) supervisor as primary supervisor? My second year, however, didn't improve despite making another breakthrough. I am doing good in my Ph.D. but I do not like my supervisors. Or you need a lot of freedom to pursue your own ideas, but you have a supervisor who is a micromanager, and wants to be involved in every single step you take, leading to endless discussions and delay in your PhD process. What does meta-philosophy have to say about the (presumably) philosophical work of non professional philosophers? The Bully It seems like some professors were picked on a little too much when they were kids. . Answer (1 of 4): Of course it is. The kind of people I wish to work with do not like to work with my supervisor. as in example? So be nice. Do you want to successfully complete your PhD? One comment: In many departments, if you have another advisor lined up, there is very little your former advisor can do to keep you from switching. Or maybe it was when he screamed at you for not updating the lab Facebook page, even when he told you that morning to work on your experiments instead. I don't know. If no policies or formal proceedings exist however, the process of how a supervisor can be replaced is in the dark, and that can ultimately make it more difficult to get what you want. A supervisory situation often gets problematic if the main supervisor from a Thesis advisory committee is causing trouble, or if the PhD student has only a single supervisor. He may disagree with your decision and not see your concerns as a problem worth leaving for, or he may surprise you by agreeing that leaving is the best course of action. Strange behavior of tikz-cd with remember picture. My suggestion: Yes, but with some type of PSA in the question regarding how to use it as a duplicate target. Hi, I want to change my current phd subject/advisor. The reputation or some other characteristic of an institution, they concluded, probably played a role. - Bryan Krause Jul 21, 2020 at 0:50 After two years, I have lost interest in my work and the passion has gone. That's not fun, he says, and the lack of autonomy doesn't help them learn what it takes to be a successful scientist. So what is happening to you is very normal. A clear sign of a lack of supervision is if one does not have regular meetings with a PhD supervisor (e.g. Sudden behavioral change from advisor after learning that I am a lesbian. What should the main focus of the canonical question be? Likely depends whether you changed topics. You'll get discouraged. It does not help me. Also Helfer et al. Are you uncertain whether it is even possible to replace your supervisor and if so, how to kick-off the process? So if you are cut out for some sort of mathematics, I reckon it will come to you in time. Is variance swap long volatility of volatility? from computer science to humanities). In addition, postdoctoral groups, such as YPA, may . To subscribe to this RSS feed, copy and paste this URL into your RSS reader. Or bullied by their own advisors. At what point of what we watch as the MCU movies the branching started? Advising offices have different processes for changing advisors. At the end of that year the powers that be in my department agreed to giving me some time off in order to put my finances in order. (2) I'm a bit worried about the idea that questions should be left open for a specified period of time before being closed as a duplicate of the canonical question -- that's very difficult to enforce. If a law is new but its interpretation is vague, can the courts directly ask the drafters the intent and official interpretation of their law? My main supervisor only accepts those ppl under his wing who are yes men. Suppose you have written part of a thesis(normally a PhD thesis in my field has 2-3 parts, each part may be different from the others). There are fundamental character traits or ways to work that do not match well, and are a reason for perpetual annoyance often on both sides. Sometimes a personality or work-style mismatch will occur - there is only so much you can learn about your future advisor before you start working with them. Youll know when its time to go. Some students in the stories I collected changed supervisor because of communication/management style issues or some disparity in expectations between the mentor and mentee. Therefore I conclude it is possible to make agreements. In other words: you should talk to people who know you rather than strangers on the internet. Another PhD candidate had to help their supervisor move to another university and establish a new lab from scratch. Can I switch fields?, How do I switch fields?, Is it a good idea to switch fields?, When to switch fields?, or all of these? However it is sometimes necessary and in the best of cases this is resolved professionally, without any bad blood. A reasonable PhD advisor wants their students to enjoy the subfield they are working in and will be happy to either suggest alternate directions or arrange a change of advisor if necessary. There are surveys that back-up this overall observation. Yeah, I would agree with @AtomJZ's concern if we could point to (m)any examples of high-quality answers from the last 10 years that specifically address the nuances of the field pairing in question. What are the challenges in changing a PhD supervisor after 2/3 of PhD is done, We've added a "Necessary cookies only" option to the cookie consent popup. You may need to take a qualifier exam there again. Your interests may change (the most reasonable explanation), you may not be able to develop good rapport with your advisor, your advisor may be on leave, a new person may have joined the Department whose interests are closer to yours. Do you want an advisor who will spend a lot of time guiding you through your project, or would you prefer one who will mostly leave you alone? Changing PhD supervisor 18 months into 4 year PhD [closed] Ask Question Asked 5 years, 3 . If you move within the same department, you have the advantage of knowing already who are the best advisers. Browse other questions tagged, Start here for a quick overview of the site, Detailed answers to any questions you might have, Discuss the workings and policies of this site. Be ready to use it if/when the time comes. See also Natures 2019 PhD survey. (1) This is a fair observation. @FourierFlux That's not usually how a PhD works. How can the mass of an unstable composite particle become complex? Answer (1 of 4): If your research areas are very different, you don't feel your advisor protects you politically, or your advisor is incompetent. The answer depends entirely on your advisor and program/university's policies (especially the 'new' one of each). Dot product of vector with camera's local positive x-axis? rev2023.3.1.43269. We have a very high number of questions about switching fields after PhD. I personally got a PhD in Electrical Engineering, specifically DSP. In some cases the expectations of you P.I. This can happen if a PhD advisor was originally allocated for administrative reasons (rather than scientific expertise) or if the PhD students project develops in a different direction over time. To break the silence I made a call to the academic crowd on twitter and gathered over 30 stories of individuals who had to go through this experience. If you are facing similar issues, I hope this will help you will feel less alone. Switching fields in a postdoc after PhD, is that possible in psychology? These extreme cases damage careers, they damage lives. What are some tools or methods I can purchase to trace a water leak? Planned Maintenance scheduled March 2nd, 2023 at 01:00 AM UTC (March 1st, Optimizing a thesis writing workflow for Bachelor and Master theses. A good time to switch your research area if you move within the defined... Each ) my main supervisor only accepts those ppl under his wing who are Yes men experience of PhD... 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