<p>Hello all,</p>
<p>I am currently a Ph.D. student in engineering and I have been having some minor issues with my advisor. During my first year I received funding from a Teaching Assistantship, and I had the expectation that I would eventually have funding through a Research Assistantship, in which case I would work with my advisor on the research and have less of a choice of what the research topic might be on. However, the RA funding never came through and it looks like I will be a teaching assistant again this year. This is fine by me except that my advisor seems to be trying to force me to do their research, even though I had began my own topic in the Spring because it was evident that I wasn't going to get RA funding. My advisor's research interests turned out to not be to my liking, and so I had began a different topic. Still, I plan on incorporating some of my advisor's expertise into my topic. I understand that I should have chosen an advisor that was more aligned with my interests but our department is very small so I did not have much of a choice.</p>
<p>While I do absolutely intend to help my advisor with their research, my overbearing goal is to focus on my research. I just don't like how I feel being forced to do their research even though I am not bound by contract to do so as in the case of an RA. I do feel somewhat bad for not being very interested in their research, but I like my current topic much better.</p>
<p>Has anyone else had a similar experience? Am I in the wrong here by not focusing my full attention on my advisor's research in though I'm not an RA? Does anyone have any suggestions for what I should do?</p>
<p>Any help would be very much appreciated.</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>You’re in their lab, using their facilities, and likely using their expertise to help with your project. You do still have a responsibility to at least make sure your research goals align in some fashion.</p>
<p>It might be worth having a sit down and telling them how you feel about they project they want you to work on. See if there’s a new project you can come up with that satisfies both of your interests.</p>
<p>Going to say the same as RacinReaver. Even if the advisor is not directly paying you, he is expending resources on you - his time and expertise, plus his lab facilities, equipment, and space. He may be providing you with a computer to use and a small office or bit of space for your own study.</p>
<p>Don’t let labels in graduate school fool you - your official appointment may be as a teaching assistant, but that doesn’t mean that you aren’t expected to be a research assistant as well. In academia, you often have to go beyond what the “contract” says, so bringing up that you aren’t contractually obligated to do anything is a bad move. Tread carefully - your chances of getting an RAship for the year after go up if you have someone in your corner advocating for you. If you **** off your advisor, you diminish your chances of getting one - with him AND with other professors, since he will chat about you.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Agree with others on the attitude, but understand completely your point of view. Nonetheless, at some point, you will either have to work on research of interest to an advisor, convince your current advisor that he should be interested in your research or find a new advisor whose research interests you or who is interested in your work. Profs are under no obligation to give you the time of day for something that doesn’t interest them. That said, without research funding, I don’t see why you’re obligated to stick with the same advisor. </p>
<p>I’m not sure what the point of being in a particular PhD program is if you can’t find an advisor in the program whose research interests you and who is willing to take you on as a student. </p>
<p>Why does your advisor’s research not interest you? How did you end up in this situation?</p>