Overview of inomchips on PostgraduateForum.com

Overview of inomchips

Signup date: 15 Jan 2017 at 2:49pm

Last login: 16 Jan 2017 at 12:51pm

Post count: 3

Recent Posts

Thinking of changing supervisors - is this a bad idea?

inomchips 3 posts
7 years ago

Quote From TreeofLife:
It's hard to say whether this is unreasonable or not to be honest. I mean, if you're doing extra research then you will get papers from it, so what's the problem? Also, students need to be full up to date with information they need so doing optional modules should only be a benefit really. But of course we don't have all the hours in the world to work and we need to be doing other stuff outside of the PhD too. How many hours are you spending working at the moment?

I was not going to be credited for the papers, this was made clear to me. I was told to do them instead of the essential background reading for modules, meaning I couldnt contribute in the seminars at all and was being written up for it. He knew this.

The optional module was a repeat of a compulsory module I was studying alongside. Again, he knew this, but ignored me.

I was doing 65 hour weeks until yesterday. 9 until 9 or 10 each day.

Thinking of changing supervisors - is this a bad idea?

inomchips 3 posts
7 years ago

Finally approved! Any thoughts would be helpful, thanks

Thinking of changing supervisors - is this a bad idea?

inomchips 3 posts
7 years ago

Hello everyone, I've just joined, so please be friendly,
I'm approaching what would be my second semester of my PhD. In my first my supervisor instructed me to complete another module on top of three other compulsory modules, which added 3 hours contact time and another 3 hours of study time on top of my week. He also insisted I conduct all exploratory research for two papers he was writing. On top of this he expected me to carry on with my own reading for my own PhD topic and produce results on par with spending full time hours on it. Despite repeatedly telling him I had too much on and couldn't cope, he continued insisting I "find time". When finally I didn't deliver the research for his paper on time, he emailed me implying I was ungrateful for the opportunities he had given me. In response I sought advice from the Doctoral Student Life department at uni, who confirmed he was out of line in making me do his research, and that I would be advised to swap supervisors. I emailed him explaining what I had been advised, and that I would not be able to complete ANY work outside of my compulsory modules, and the extra module he had insist I take, until the beginning of next term. This also included work on my own thesis. Despite this he has emailed me asking to meet up so I can 'show him the reading and research I have been doing' and I now again have this panicky sinking feeling of knowing that he is expecting a ton of work that I simply haven't had any time to do, and that he hasn't listened to me at all. I am not trying to be a precious snow flake, but I am also not willing to work more than full time of this. I am reluctant to swap as he is the best in his field - however I am only studying his field because he told me to in the beginning, I do not have a particular interest in it. Please be nice and don't call me lazy, I honestly am not. But I also have not stopped working over Christmas, and today is the first day I have sat down and actually had a day off. Perhaps I am just not cut out for academia.