<p>Hi,
I'm Nathan, doing a PhD somewhere in Texas.
I'm working in a CS department. I picked my guide 1 year ago, and I'm sorely disappointed.
I'm supposed to be working on algorithm design for new cheminformatics tools, but I'm really not because:
-My PI is incompetent. He can't code in any language (not even MATLAB), let alone open e-mail<br>
attachments. I have no idea who gave him the job of managing 8 grad students who happen to be
pretty good UNIX programmers.
-He doesn't realise just how incompetent he is. With no formal training in the field, he designs half-baked
'algorithms' that he expects his students to code into reality. They're plain absurd, but he doesn't listen
to criticism.
-These programs can be published (which adds to his funding) but no one in their right mind will ever use
them. We're pretty much writing bullcrap that no one will use, so that the agencies give us even more
funding to code even more.... and the cycle goes on.</p>
<p>He appears to be a good guide, who writes papers and gets funds, but he's not.</p>
<p>Essentially, if I continue here, I'll publish a lot, but mostly in obscure little journals that no one reads.
They won't help me find a job after graduation.</p>
<p>I'm up *****-creek, but I can take action:
-Leave now. Do something with only an MSc degree, or find another PhD program.
-Ignore my guide, and do what I please. It may anger him, and maybe delay my graduation,
but I'll have a future.
-Do what my guide says. We'll be on friendly terms, and I'll get done fast, but at a great cost.</p>
<p>What would you do if you were me?</p>
<p>Leave with an MS, or just leave now, and transfer to either another PI in your department or another program. I’ve seen a lot of people think they were doing the good student thing and battling through despite major conflicts with their advisors. These people took 7-10 years to get their PhDs. The MS is a natural breaking point - you won’t burn your bridge with your current advisor, but can get on to something you find more interesting. If you don’t even want to wait that long, most advisor transfers within a department happen near the end of the first year. Now is the time to make a change.</p>
<p>Option 2 will keep you in school for a very, very long time. Your negotiating position is weak - if you just strike out with an advisor who doesn’t think that’s kosher, you will end up staying until you give in and do what they want. There are plenty of ways to do your own science in grad school - blowing off your advisor is not one of them. They have all of the power in this relationship, since you finish when they decide you’re done. Offend your advisor at your own peril.</p>
<p>Option 3 isn’t great either. This is when you begin developing your professional reputation - if you don’t produce anything interesting in grad school, it doesn’t do you any favors. If you were already 4 or 5 years in, I might tell you to tough it out, but only one year means you have a LONG time to go yet.</p>
<p>I’m a little skeptical of your claims (a CS professor who doesn’t write a single language??), and suspect you’re dramatizing a little for effect. The point is, it doesn’t actually matter - if you perceive that you are having major conflicts and loss of interest after only a year, you should get out now. There is a natural learning curve to a PhD, and things like the arbitrary handing down of algorithms for you to code, you could get over - that’s a style issue. The fact that you don’t find his research interesting, though, is a dealbreaker. Things will NOT get better from here.</p>
<p>Sorry to be kind of a downer, but that’s my $0.02.</p>
<p>I wish I were exaggerating…
He came from a pure pharmacy background. He joined in the cheminformatics heyday of the early 00’s. I guess the other faculty just expected him to pick up a language.</p>
<p>But you’re right, that’s not important, at least not now. I should have done my homework before joining, instead of just going by what his web-page said.</p>
<p>I’m not in too deep. I’ll wrap up what I’m doing here and head to a neighboring lab. I’ve been in the department for a year, so I know whose-who. I’ll try to leave on a good note, especially with my lab-buddies.</p>