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Dear Nature,<\/p>\n
I am a doctoral student coming to the end of my degree studying engineering safety, and I feel I\u2019ve been left to do my PhD alone without any guidance from my adviser. I was excited to do my PhD with this person, who is respected in the field, but my experience has been disorienting and discouraging. We\u2019ve had weekly meetings for years, but I never receive any serious feedback or guidance, and my adviser never follows up on my progress. Because of this, my research is lagging. I thought that this was a normal experience, but I realized too late that, unlike others, my adviser thinks that graduate students should not need support with their research.<\/p>\n
What do I do when my principal investigator (PI) isn\u2019t involved in my project? \u2014 A discouraged engineer<\/p>\n
Nature\u2019s careers team spoke with three academics who study workplace dynamics, including research integrity and professionalism, organizational behaviour, and bullying. They all agree that communication and advocating for yourself will be key. But even if you can\u2019t get the support that you need from your PI, there are other options to help you finish your PhD.<\/p>\n
For better or for worse, not all PhD programmes are created equal, says Sherry Moss, who studies organizational behaviour at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Although some programmes are highly structured and mandate that PIs have a hands-on approach and set clear milestones, others put the onus on students to create their own structure, Moss says. A student who thrives with a hands-off approach might not do well in a highly-structured programme, and vice versa.<\/p>\n
If structure is something you need but your programme isn\u2019t built that way, it\u2019s important to create that structure yourself, Moss says. This might involve asking for feedback from your PI on specific aspects of your work or asking them to review experiments before you run them. It will be important and productive to go into these discussions with clear goals in mind, Moss says. It can be helpful to prepare a report in advance that outlines recent experiments, next steps and potential timelines, and to share that with your adviser before you meet.<\/p>\n
An \u2018agony aunt\u2019 for working scientists<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Getting the support you need might also involve managing up: making sure your supervisor knows you need more from them, rather than suffering in silence. \u201cAt school and in life, one must ask for what one needs, especially if you aren\u2019t getting it,\u201d Moss says. \u201cAsking does not imply being pushy, it is simply making polite requests. These requests may not be granted, but they certainly won\u2019t be granted if you don\u2019t ask.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course, speaking up for yourself in this situation is easier said than done, especially if years of working with an uninvolved PI has bred resentment. Before you broach this conversation, keep in mind that it is likely to be more productive if you focus on attacking the problem instead of the person, says Alison Antes, who studies academic integrity and interpersonal dynamics in research laboratories at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can plan ahead, like, how am I going to initiate the conversation? What am I going to say first?\u201d, Antes says. \u201cYou can even practice with a peer or someone else.\u201d<\/p>\n
You might consider role playing with a trusted colleague who knows your adviser and could help you to navigate their likely responses.<\/p>\n
When setting up the meeting, it\u2019s a good idea to schedule it in advance and give your adviser a rough idea of what you\u2019d like to talk about. That will give them time to reflect and prepare, too. And instead of framing the conversation as something that your adviser is doing wrong, try to stay focused on discussing how your experience and work could be improved.<\/p>\n
To avoid finger pointing, Antes says it\u2019s important to use \u2018I\u2019 statements when sharing your perspective. For example, \u2018I have realized that I need to discuss [this issue]. Would you be willing to talk about this problem with me?\u2019. Conversely, she suggests avoiding accusatory language such as \u2018You have not provided me enough support\u2019. You\u2019ll also need to listen to what your adviser has to say, which might be constructive criticism.<\/p>\n
No matter how much you prepare, keep in mind that the real conversation could still take unexpected turns, so consider an exit plan as well, Antes says. This might look like asking to take a break from the conversation if things get too tense or heated.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, some relationships just won\u2019t be a good fit, even if you advocate for your needs. In that case, it\u2019s important to look for support beyond your PI to keep your PhD on the road, says Leah Hollis, who studies higher education and workplace bullying at the Pennsylvania State University in University Park.<\/p>\n
You can start by reaching out to others in your department and reading your doctoral handbook front to back, Hollis says, to help you better understand your programme\u2019s expectations and what you should be achieving as a student. Building an academic support network outside your university can also be incredibly beneficial.<\/p>\n
\u201cIdentify scholars whose work inspires you, read their publications, and reach out for brief informational meetings,\u201d Hollis says. \u201cMany academics are willing to share advice when approached thoughtfully, and these external connections can provide valuable guidance and perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n
In these conversations, Hollis says it\u2019s important to stay appreciative and not to expect too much at the beginning. As with other aspects of your PhD, it is also important to remain persistent when looking for a new mentor and not to be discouraged if you don\u2019t find your perfect match immediately, Hollis says. Thankfully, it\u2019s likely that this effort to build your professional network will pay off not only for your PhD but also down the road when you look for support or career advice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The problem Dear Nature, I am a doctoral student coming to the end of my degree studying engineering safety, and I feel I\u2019ve been left to do my PhD alone without any guidance from my adviser. I was excited to do my PhD with this person, who is respected in the field, but my experience<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":41944,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[58],"tags":[4172,11833,16456,370,694],"class_list":{"0":"post-41943","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-science","8":"tag-guidance","9":"tag-offering","10":"tag-phd","11":"tag-project","12":"tag-support"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41943","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=41943"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41943\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/41944"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=41943"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=41943"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=41943"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}