I'm not happy with my phd at the moment for a variety of reasons. I realise I have to speak to my supervisor about it, but how likely is it that he can just say to me to leave then? i.e. effectively sack me?! I don't want this to happen if I can avoid it, but would rather work round the problems!
Thanks

He is unlikely to sack you. What problems are you having and how long have you been doing it?

As has already been said, you are unlikely to be 'sacked' from your PhD - removing anyone from a university is a long winded process. As you have implied he may well retort 'if you don't like it you are free to leave', but as a rule most academics will go out of their way to avoid losing a PhD student.

If you are worried about confronting your supervisor with your concerns you should speak to your postgraduate advisor (these people are there for precisely this problem).

If your department does not use a postgraduate advisor system then speak to the departmental postgraduate tutor, the head of postgraduate research or the head of department. You are in the best position to judge the potential reaction of your supervisor to you concerns, but remember it is polite to air your grievances directly to your supervisor before complaining to his colleagues (particularly senior ones).

Hi Emily, I had a similar problem, but when I talked to my supervisor she was surprisingly helpful and genuinely interested in helping me out, even to the point of changing the project to suit me. She was also willling to help me get to masters level if I things were still not going well in a few months more. A good supervisor should be more than willing to help you out.

Hmm, in my opinion a PhD = problems. Don't expect not to have any. There is even a comic about it.

Academics like bullying each other. They call it peer review. ;)

My supervisor tells me that she just doesn't know if she can recogmend me to continue my PhD in my next assesment for the university if I don't have enough results (for what ever reason, at the moment it's technical problems).
I konw that she won't really recogmend me to do a Masters insted (I already have one)- but it still mekes me angry to hear it from her ...

Hi, I feel for your situation. I came home today thinking " I can't work with that professor one more day". But, I am afraid that if I am direct he will just tell me to leave. He has some reason to be irritated with me (I am a mother with kids to take away my time) but, I don't beleive I deserve the verbal jabs he doles out.

Hang in there.....much of it is about endurance IMHO. And If you leave, odds are the only one you hurt is yourself. Tigs

Hi Tigs. Sounds like you have a similar problem to me, but in my case it is with the postdoc (see previous thread). I felt like I wanted to quit, but I am determined to stick it through.