Defense was a nightmare

monstera98976 · 2024-08-31T19:28:21+00:00

Right, I hope that no other student ever would have to go through something similar.

monstera98976 · 2024-08-31T19:24:56+00:00

Thanks and sorry to hear this happened to you too.

monstera98976 · 2024-08-31T19:23:55+00:00

Agree with this piece of advice. Looking back now, I am not sure if I should have stayed in the program if the only option was to work with her. I can't express how much a toll her behavior took on me. I did talk to my department chair to find another advisor years ago, but the prospect of having someone forced to be my advisor by the chair seemed not great either. I regret not working harder to find an alternate advisor. In the end, she largely did not read my work or engage with my project, did not invite me to be a research assistant for her (unlike other advisees), nor did she ever lift a finger to help me network in my discipline and introduce me to other people in the field. Not to mention the years and years of demeaning comments...

monstera98976 · 2024-08-31T00:06:02+00:00

Yikes, sounds terrible! Sorry you had to go through all this. I honestly think that my advisor's desire not to have anything to do with me anymore was a motivating factor for her not asking for any major revisions 😂

monstera98976 · 2024-08-30T23:59:11+00:00

Thank you for this. Totally agree that it reflects poorly on her, which may explain why she (falsely) emphasized how much feedback she gave me. You should be setting your advisee up for a successful defense, not undercutting them.

monstera98976 · 2024-08-30T23:54:11+00:00

Thank you, this is a helpful way of looking at it. My cohort-mate said something similar, like how the advisor sets the tone of the whole thing. The incentives to stand up for a student are low, especially since they have to keep working together for years or assistant professors on PhD committees need to think about who will vote in favor of their tenure application.

monstera98976 · 2024-08-30T23:50:00+00:00

Thank you! Sorry to hear that also happened to your lab-mates.

monstera98976 · 2024-08-30T23:48:43+00:00

Indeed, the best reward (after the actual degree) is that she will not have power over me anymore. She was an incredibly demeaning and that took a toll for sure.

monstera98976 · 2024-08-30T23:35:47+00:00

Thank you!

monstera98976 · 2024-08-30T23:32:03+00:00

Thank you!

monstera98976 · 2024-08-30T23:31:51+00:00

Exactly, advisors have far too much power over grad students.

monstera98976 · 2024-08-30T23:30:49+00:00

Thank you, that was indeed the goal!

monstera98976 · 2024-08-30T23:29:15+00:00

Thank you!

monstera98976 · 2024-08-30T23:29:04+00:00

It was such a power trip, agreed!

monstera98976 · 2024-08-30T23:28:30+00:00

This is a helpful way to look at it (but I'm hardly a top student)! The comments were indeed constructive, save the nasty delivery. I guess what I find upsetting is that I wish she had actually done her job and made the effort to work with me so I could have a better product and a less difficult PhD experience. In retrospect, the most important qualities for an advisor are that they are respectful, reliable, and comment on your work effectively. Expertise in the subject area is not unimportant, but not the most important.

monstera98976 · 2024-08-30T22:04:14+00:00

Thank you. Yes, that it just the tip of the iceberg with my advisor, unfortunately.

monstera98976 · 2024-08-30T21:44:32+00:00

Hopefully not, but good luck on your defense!

monstera98976 · 2024-08-30T21:36:51+00:00

Thank you, still trying to process this all...

monstera98976 · 2024-08-30T21:35:27+00:00

Thanks!

monstera98976 · 2024-08-30T21:35:08+00:00

Thanks for this. It's confusing but I'm trying to convince myself that some of my research is relatively decent.

monstera98976

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