Overview of pm133

Recent Posts

Mental health as a PhD student
P

Some good responses on here. I agree that this is not an issue with PhDs in general.
In my opinion it is a wider issue. Undergraduates are plagued by this mental fragility and it appears women suffer more than men.
I think that young people are definitely more prone to this than other generations. Facebook and all social media in general has a huge deal to answer for because it breeds isolation. Lazy parents who cover their kids in cotton wool and protect them from everything are a scourge on this generation as well. Add to that the pressure heaped on kids by teachers to get good grades and go to university as the only way to succeed in life with no regard to whether the person wants to go and you have a recipe for disaster.
Then you add in the infantilisation of undergraduate students by academic staff who treat students with kid gloves in order to secure favourable student reviews and a culture of political correctness and the perma offended who discourage any sort of disagreement of views because they have deemed it disrespectful to hold a different opinion. We have a whole raft of people out there telling us what to think which inevitably breeds resentment. Then you have this laughable framing of every single referendum amd election as a fight between good and evil which means those on the losing side no longer accept the wishes of the democratic majority and you have to wonder why anyone nees to ask the question of where depression comes from. People dont properly respect each other any more. People dont respect the right of others to hold different views. People have become more self obsessed. They believe that they are vitally important because nobody in their life has displayed any honesty towards them for them to believe any different. So for twenty year they are told they are a star but the reality is that the overwhelming majority are doing a bang average job, earning a bang average salary for a bang average company IF THEY ARE LUCKY.
People are way too obsessed with how others think of them and it clouds everything they do.

The question should not be why id mental illness so rife.
It should be why so many people manage to survive this WITHOUT breaking.

The obvious problem is that when you do a PhD or take a job, real life kicks in and it is brutal . Many young people find themselves ill equipped to cope without safe spaces, nurturing environments or a host of other people prepared to wipe up behind them.

My advice is to gather people around you with a variety of views and opinions who will be honest with you. Secondly, get over yourself. Thirdly, try and do things which bring meaning to your own life. Finally, screw anyone else who would criticise you for living your own life.

Advice Required! How long should you wait for your PhD result after submitting with minors?
P

Quote From PracticalMouse:
I hope you're now considering legal advice regarding your situation - someone clearly has it in for you, and you need to make sure you've covered your bases. Despicable behaviour on their part - an honest mistake that could have been rectified discreetly, but that's clearly not their agenda.


Legal action? Against who? On what grounds? How should it be funded?
I cant imagine adding a legal case to the current situation would help faded07.

How blunt should you be with your supervisor?
P

Quote From Hollis1234:
Quote From pm133:
Quote From Hollis1234:
Quote From pm133:
Quote From Hollis1234:
The post doc in my group hasn't dedicated a single hour to teaching me. I am a relatively new PhD in the lab and I have had no lab supervision what so ever. My supervisor is great but he's an extremely busy man and has only managed to show me a few things. The post doc seems a bit of a creep to be honest and offers lab advice to girls outside of the group. I've even shown the post doc how to do some techniques that he isn't familiar with.

In short I'm not happy with the level of lab supervision I'm getting. I've completed masters ect where it was only me and the supervisor but I don't think it's fair to have a post doc in the lab who actually does nothing.
Without sounding like a d1ck what's the best way to phrase this to my supervisor?


Why would you possibly think the postdoc was there to train you? Were you told that by your supervisor?
My advice would be that you forget the postdoc, mind your own business and get on with worrying about learning how to do your own job instead of waiting for others to show you. You have a really bad attitude my friend.



Yes I was told that my supervisor would help me with a specific area in my research but he hasn't.


OK but on reading your first post again and now reading that you have a second problem regarding being left to teach the masters students, I would have to say that my advice is the same as I gave earlier. You are being presented with an enormous opportunity to put some seriously powerful experience on your CV and it seems to have completely escaped your attention.



Which is true but I'm in my second year and have already supervised several project students and master students. It's now impacting on my work and the work of the other PhD students here.


Why are you worrying about the other PhD students? Let the other PhD students worry about themselves.
This thread started off with you complaining about your lack of training. We dealt with that and then it became about you having to look after undergraduates. When I told you to look at the positives of that you started talking about other PhD students.
You are changing the goalposts. My advice is still the same. Stop obsessing over what this one crappy postdoc is doing or not doing and get on with your job. If the undergraduates are taking up too much of your time tell your boss it is impacting on your work. Under no circumstances should you even consider bringing the postdoc into this unless you have a desire for career suicide.

How blunt should you be with your supervisor?
P

Quote From Hollis1234:
Quote From pm133:
Quote From Hollis1234:
The post doc in my group hasn't dedicated a single hour to teaching me. I am a relatively new PhD in the lab and I have had no lab supervision what so ever. My supervisor is great but he's an extremely busy man and has only managed to show me a few things. The post doc seems a bit of a creep to be honest and offers lab advice to girls outside of the group. I've even shown the post doc how to do some techniques that he isn't familiar with.

In short I'm not happy with the level of lab supervision I'm getting. I've completed masters ect where it was only me and the supervisor but I don't think it's fair to have a post doc in the lab who actually does nothing.
Without sounding like a d1ck what's the best way to phrase this to my supervisor?


Why would you possibly think the postdoc was there to train you? Were you told that by your supervisor?
My advice would be that you forget the postdoc, mind your own business and get on with worrying about learning how to do your own job instead of waiting for others to show you. You have a really bad attitude my friend.



Yes I was told that my supervisor would help me with a specific area in my research but he hasn't.


OK but on reading your first post again and now reading that you have a second problem regarding being left to teach the masters students, I would have to say that my advice is the same as I gave earlier. You are being presented with an enormous opportunity to put some seriously powerful experience on your CV and it seems to have completely escaped your attention.

Cost of PhD
P

Quote From yirara:
Right, lets talk money. What are the costs of a PhD? I don't mean enrolment fees or living costs but everything else you'd not have to pay if you were not doing it? I'm thinking about stationary, books and other things. What about costs associated with visiting conferences? Ok, flight and travel is covered, but what about food (might be more expensive than at home), transport and the likes? My budget for the PhD is fairly tight but doable. It's just the unplanned costs I'm not sure about.


The uni has stationary which I can raid when I need it. Printing costs are zero too. I am working in science so I don't generally have any need to buy other than a couple of books for the PhD - most of it is journal papers. I avoid general conferences and "general networking opportunities" like the plague and can't think of a worse waste of my time. I bought a laptop to allow me to work from home. Other than that, there are no other obvious costs I can think of.

Advisor issues-quitting PhD
P

Quote From Thezim:
Hello pm133, definitely. I'm learning a lot of stuff on the fly, or asking for advice from more experienced researchers. Science itself is not the difficult part, it's more the utter lack of resources that hinders progress, and the uncaring attitude of my PI who never asks for them (e.g. access to equipment). One thing is getting frustrated because the experiments don't work, an other is getting stopped because you don't have access to a basic technique and you have to figure out a way around. To me my PhD projects starts looking more like one that would look nice in a science fair and not in a doctoral dissertation


Yeah that sounds very frustrating. If I was in this position I would start chapping on doors until I could find a PI prepared to let me access their labs but I guess you are already doing that. It's difficult to know how to advise but at least you appear to be doing everything in your power to make things happen.

Part time PhD
P

Quote From PNPN7373:
Hi All

So I've started a part time PhD. Originally I wrote the research proposal three years ago to do this full time. I was offered two places but couldn't take either. Reasons were I'd have to move - not possible and no funding. So for various rather dull and complicated reasons, I have only been able to begin now at the age of 43 when I should be earning decent money (I've very little at this stage in my life).

Problem is I've lost interest in my topic and have no work. I need well paid work to do this but can't get any.I've knocked on many doors, applied for hundreds of jobs but got nowhere. Not sure what to do about the first part but I do not like being on my own all day. I find it dull and prefer to have people to bounce ideas off.

I also have a supervisor, who is a very nice guy but knows absolutely nothing about my topic - no one in my university seems to - and is busy pursuing the glory of his own career.

I desperately need work in the short term and work that fits my talents in the mid to long term. I'm not sure what to do.

Advice please.


You need to knock that nonsense about "should be earning decent money" on the head for a start. Nobody SHOULD be doing anything. You are where you are. Doing a PhD is hard enough without beating yourself over the head for no good reason. Self pity and self sabotage are absolutely fatal and you need to stop it before it ruins your life.

If you have lost interest in your PhD then that is not good news.

I am interested in this sentence - "I desperately need work in the short term and work that fits my talents". What do you mean by this? Are you being selective about the type of work you need?

Advisor issues-quitting PhD
P

Quote From Thezim:
Dear Tru and Ephiny, thank you for your support and suggestions, I'll arrange a meeting as soon as possible with my supervisor and my research coordinator, where I'll present a clearly defined plan of action, including needed resources and timeline from now till my graduation and pin them down to it.
I wish you both a bright career and future.


You made a comment above about someting being about Chemistry rather than Physics.
Chemistry is essentially applied Physics anyway, charge, angular momentum, quantum mechanics, therrmodynamics, reaction kinetics and dynamics, force, energy. I know that because Chemistry is my area. Can you not learn the Chemistry yourself? I cant think of any Chemistry which are so difficult that you would need a degree in it to be able to get your head around it.
I have had to frequently go and learn Physics stuff for my Chemistry based PhD.

Competition instead of Collaboration
P

Quote From Tudor_Queen:
Quote From Tudor_Queen:
Hi again Bah, thanks for explaining the situation more. It still may have nothing to do with your appearance... I feel quite strongly about this as it is so easy to attribute reasons for people's behaviours, and those reasons may be completely wrong but can still lead to the individual getting a complex about X or Y that is different about them. If you looked "the same" as the others, this may still be happening - seriously. People are weird. They may think that they click and that their bond is made stronger by excluding a third person. That is just one other potential reason - there are many many more. Anyway, whatever the reason - even if it is differences in appearance - I hope you soon get to meet some people are more friendly and considerate of others.



Yeh, I think what I said previously expresses that I think there are a million and one reasons as to why this could be happening. I think the "your part of the world" comment isn't really helpful in the context, and adds to Bah's feeling that there may be some implicit racism going on here.


Thats probably something I would agree with although knowing the context in which that advice was offered is absolutely essential in determining the intent of the supervisor. Its impossible to know whether you are getting the whole story or not on an online thread. 2 minutes in her lab and I would probably see the root of the issue straight away. On here it is impossible to be sure.

My university has let me down
P

I would echo the comments of PracticalMouse.
You really need to focus on what you can control.
Forget the politics and focus on the fact that your thesis is not up to scratch.
Fix that, get your PhD and then I have one final piece pf advice.
Find a new job. You have been there too long to the extent that the office politics is affecting you.

what is the best specialization in MBA for an Entrepreneur
P

Quote From roselisa891:
In my opinion an MBA degree is not necessary for becoming an entrepreneur. All you need is a good business plan. A viable revenue model will help you get funding from venture capitalists. All you gotta do is try hard enough and don't lose hope.


You have responded to a post from several years ago so I think the original poster might have long departed.
I agree with you though.
You dont need a degree of any kind to be an entrepeneur.

Removing a paper from a conference (online) after it is published
P

Quote From battler:
Is it possible to have a paper removed from online proceedings after it has been published and the conference taken place? The basis is, that I did not consent (nor was it sought) that the paper be published. It was not even presented but still published. Do I have to take the legal route? All I want is the paper removed from the online repository. Anyone ever seen this happen, anywhere?


Are you seriously suggesting you want to take legal action just because you werent personally asked before it was published?
What is the real reason for you being angry about this particular incident?

My university has let me down
P

Quote From RipleyEllenLt:
Basically, I was bullied into dropping her as my promoter as certain colleagues did not want her to have any kind of 'hold' on the Department or any kind of power. It was a personal issue for them against her. It was suggested to me that I ask a Dr from the Languages department to be my promoter, as he has a strong theoretical background (in literary studies, not fandom, which I found out later, unfortunately). I fought hard to keep my original promoter and even tried to have her appointed as co-promoter, but to no avail. My colleagues would not budge. So the languages Dr was then approved to be my promoter. I am his first Doctoral student, and he did not receive any assistance in the form of a co-supervisor with knowledge in media and fandom studies. I applied for a national bursary for Completing PhD Candidates at the end of the year, and had been collecting data throughout 2014.

I received confirmation in 2015 that I had been awarded the national bursary, and used that to fund my trip to the UK to attend the London Film and Comic Con and conference on Fandom and Religion, and teaching replacement for the sabbatical I applied for from July 2015 – January 2016. I also received a Teaching Replacement Grant from the Research Office that went towards paying contract staff during semester 2 of 2015. I was starting to write up the PhD and submitted it in December 2015, after a 6 month sabbatical.


Sorry but I am still a little confused here. You say you were bullied. Thats a strong word. In what way were you bullied? Were you threatened in some way?
Also you talk about things being a personal issue with other staff and they didnt want her to have any hold on them. How did you find that out?
The procedural thing is also confusing. If the wrong form has been sent out, why is the university not helping you?

Competition instead of Collaboration
P

Quote From Tudor_Queen:
Being encouraged to "make friends with people from your part of the world". What more do you want?


I think you may be overinterpreting the advice Bah was given. If the supervisor was racist why would he hire her in the first place? It could simply be that the supervisor is trying to be helpful. Maybe Bah comes across as homesick and he thought this might help. None of us have any idea.
There could be any number of reasons why Bah is disliked. in the first post in this thread Bah asks if they are "jealous" without giving any reason as to why they might be. Does she talk too much about herself?
Bah is also apparently much older than the others. Could be ageism. Could be they see her as domineering or controlling. Could be anything but she is going with racism whilst at the same time insinuating that because it is the US then by definition it is obviously racism. All I am asking is for some examples because we have only been told one part of the story.

How blunt should you be with your supervisor?
P

Quote From Hollis1234:
The post doc in my group hasn't dedicated a single hour to teaching me. I am a relatively new PhD in the lab and I have had no lab supervision what so ever. My supervisor is great but he's an extremely busy man and has only managed to show me a few things. The post doc seems a bit of a creep to be honest and offers lab advice to girls outside of the group. I've even shown the post doc how to do some techniques that he isn't familiar with.

In short I'm not happy with the level of lab supervision I'm getting. I've completed masters ect where it was only me and the supervisor but I don't think it's fair to have a post doc in the lab who actually does nothing.
Without sounding like a d1ck what's the best way to phrase this to my supervisor?


Why would you possibly think the postdoc was there to train you? Were you told that by your supervisor?
My advice would be that you forget the postdoc, mind your own business and get on with worrying about learning how to do your own job instead of waiting for others to show you. You have a really bad attitude my friend.