Hi.

I'm about 9 months into my PHD program, of a four year program. I am technically a supervisor of a Professor, but one of his postdocs is working as my effective supervisor, and this post is about the latter "supervisor".

What I'm trying to figure out is if this is me not coping with the PHD, or if he actually is… an asshole.

First my background: I have a masters in theoretical *blank*, and am working now on Computational *blank*. Not a completely new field, but alot to learn. If I were to be my supervisor I would have given me six months to read up on both the new theoretical parts of my work and get to know the computational side (we have an existing code), and then with a good basis get to do the real science.

Unfortunately I only got 1 month of this before my supervisor started asking about how I should start implementing the first set of modifications of the code. This then in my mind made me start doing a sloppy implementation of only partially learned methods/theory. Then three months later he wanted to know if I had finished the first set of modifications, I said I had but that I hadn't gotten through data analysis or a test case. At this point he went mental, yelling about how he wanted us to push for a publication and that he didn't want any of my "ridiculous excuses".

The last few months have been more of this, I am trying to learn everything I feel i don't know, while also working on the code (the actual test case has been a really annoyance as I am simply stuck). What does not help is him coming by and pestering me about the fact that he wants a publication, and that it is "way overdue", distracting me from actually getting the work done.

The last straw came this week, where I had to attend 7 hours of lectures every day of a mandatory course for all PHD students. In this week I made no progress in my science work, as I actually did the student part of "PHD student", and this brought on another of his mental outbursts where he basically threatens with "you're being paid to work…", implying that I should watch out…

So the reason I think this is not just me tackling the hard work of a PHD, is that I see no other of my first year PHD students being pestered of doing publications this early, a lot of people don't have their publications before their third year even. He also keeps comparing me to another PHD student who got publications on his first year, however I'd like to point out that he did the exact same thing for his masters as for his PHD, essentially giving him 2 extra years, a fact that is beyond my supervisor to comprehend.

Ok, this was a gigantic post, sorry about that, I just felt the need to write it down. Any comments? Is this the norm of supervisor behavior?

Hi Giardin,
I think if you are feeling a lot of pressure and are struggling in any way, arrange an appointment with your supervisor to discuss your concerns with him. Say you want to talk to him about something in private. Be very clear in the meeting what you're concerns are and what you would think would be best for you (i.e., you might need more time or help).

Your supervisor is probably asking you to get stuff published as it is good for you and it also will make him and the department look good by having a star student. Also it is normal during a PhD to think you are doing your research badly and to find it quite stressful. That is actually part of the learning process!

If you feel you cannot talk to your supervisor in a private and confidential capacity, or you feel like he is going to react badly, you can always talk to a mediator, e.g., your postgraduate tutor or another member of staff who you feel like you can talk to and who in turn can communicate your concerns to your supervisor.

I would personally suggest talk to your supervisor first - as nobody likes someone sneaking behind their back talking about them because it can be perceived as someone making allegations or complaints. If you get nowhere talking to your supervisor, talk to your postgraduate tutor. Just remember to always be reasonable and try and see both sides of the story.

Hope that helps!