Bad PhD Supervision. Need Help!!
I am in the 2nd year of PhD in Chemistry (full time). The reason I am writing this is because I am really disheartened and on verge of giving up. I don’t even know from where to begin, it’s a cluster f*** of problems. I moved into Ohio from Florida to pursue PhD chemistry from Ohio State University, and needless to say, I have no friends here.
But the root of my depression is my supervision. I have two sups and my first sup is retired but the university has allowed his supervision. The only problem is that he is not concerned with what I do (big news) and is mostly not available. I am walking blind here as when I complete my work and send him the draft, he takes weeks to respond and even then give me vague responses. The second sup says that she can guide me to an extent but as my first sup is the expert in my field and fully aware of my research, she can’t support me through it all. I understand that a research takes time and you can’t complete it in a go, but what am I supposed to do when I have no support? How can I finish in time? To top it all, the chemistry lab assistant is an old bloke with a cranky personality who just yells at me at every move I make wrong. I am trying really very hard but I am unable to find a way to get out of this situation. I am so worried all the time that I have lost my appetite, I hardly sleep or talk to my parents, and to top it all I have no friends here to share my concerns with.
Discuss your Dissertation 
robertmaxeey 11:54 am on September 27, 2016 Permalink |
You need to get a social life. Period. Read this blog, I found it really motivational, and so might you!
http://www.statisticsconsultation.com/blog/do-not-abandon-your-social-life-for-your-ph-d/
Second, have you tried to meet with your coordinator or PhD student administrator, there is one in every university. Talk to this person, share your troubles and maybe he/she can help you out. Maybe even conduct a meeting with your supervisors, change them or give you a third one.