Do You Ever Feel Ignored by Your Supervisor?
I recently received a question through http://www.benchfly.com from a graduate student who was desperate because he felt ignored by his PI (PI= principal investigator, another word for advisor). His advisor never spoke to him and acted like he was not there. As a senior student, he was upset because he needed his advisor's support to graduate, but he felt like his PI gave up on him completely. Although I do not know the situation completely, my guess is that there was a communication gap between this student and his advisor. While many PI's are too busy to give their students focused attention on a regular basis, they are very interested in seeing their students succeed.
What can you do when you feel like you are not getting enough guidance? One option is to look for guidance elsewhere. More experienced students, post-docs, scientists and professors in your department can probably give you advice on scientific problems. But there comes a point when your advisor's input becomes crucial. In the early years, you need to discuss the direction of your thesis with your advisor to make sure you are in agreement about your research plan. Later on, when you encounter forks or obstacles in the road, your PI's advice will come in handy as well. Finally, when you are ready to graduate, your advisor's support regarding your job search (e.g. letters of recommendation, industry and academic contacts) will be much needed.
Given how busy advisors are, however, it can be very frustrating to wait for him or her to approach you. The reality is that it is up to you to initiate conversations, and if your advisor is very busy, you might need to be quite persistent. The preferred way of communication is, of course, in person. Approach your advisor with your questions, or request a time to meet. If you have a busy advisor, there is a good chance that at the appointed time he will be preoccupied with something else. A young professor recently said to me: 'I never understood why professors were so busy until I became one too. I am literally triple-booking myself most of the time."
Be sure that you are thoroughly prepared for your meeting, so even if your PI can only give you 5 minutes it will be productive. As an example, consider the case of a student who put a collaborating professor's name on a poster. When he approached her to get her approval for the abstract submission, she said:" Sorry, I do not have time to read all your data right now." Fortunately, the student was prepared and replied: "That's okay I already summarized the data in the abstract so you just need to read that." She replied: "Oh, it is just your abstract? Yeah I can look over that right now."
If you have a micromanaging or overbearing PI, you might feel envious of students who feel ignored. But there is a good chance that at one point your PI will be too busy to hold your hand. When that time comes (if it has not already), be sure to take charge of your thesis. After all, the purpose of graduate school is to teach you to be an independent researcher. When you need your advisor's support, however, be sure to ask for it assertively, and prepare thoroughly for your meetings.
Wishing you the best,
Dora Farkas, PhD, Founder, PhDNet
Author: "The Smart Way To Your PhD:200 Secrets From 100 Graduates."
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