Advisor and Committee Hell

I heard from my co-chair today - she wants to meet tomorrow to go over the results section. The last time I saw her in person was *last* July! She proposed we meet over lunch. So tomorrow I'm meeting with her. Should be interesting, and I hope, informative. I'm writing the discussion now so it'll be good to hear what she has to say. I hope she has some good suggestions for reducing the number of Tables and Figures I have (44 total). I'm a little nervous about our meeting tomorrow. Sure hope she ha something good to say - I am SO sick of the results section - and I know it'll need a good rewrite (again). Just needed to vent a bit. -Lynn

I had a meeting today with my advisor which went just swell! She was impressed with my binder, my outline, and is very confident that I'll finish the draft by the first of the year and graduate in May! Yippee!!!!! Of course, something had to then come along and burst my happy bubble. I walked two doors down and met with a committee member. I basically gave him a copy of my approved outline. He preceeded to then make all sorts of corrections to it (hello, it's already been finalized and approved by the chair just moments ago)! Then he quizzed me on my simulation (which I hadn't thought out entirely yet) and bashed around my methodology. To top it all off he didn't seem to understand why my model included three stage (history, settlement patterns, and ethnicity). This is, like, the basis of my research! Add a little icing: he was asking questions which were answered in my proposal and didn't give me the impression that he'd read it at all! Maybe he just has terrible retention, but jeez-louise! I was warned about this guy by one of his students who just defended. I'm terrified he is going to lead me into a thousand tangential directions and inflate my already huge thesis, and waste my time. Anybody else have a committee member like this? What did you do? -kharyssa-

Kharyssa, one brief and simple piece of advice: Avoid this guy like the plague! Stick with your advisor and don't meet with this other committee member at all unless you absolutely have to. And enlist the support of your advisor to help run interference with the dud if necessary--that's a big part of her job in shepherding you through the process.     -Tom

Picturing this guy as a plague-ridden walking corpse really made me laugh! Bring out your dead! [Monty Python] The frustrating thing is that my chair told me to give him a copy of the outline. Guess from now on I'll take that to mean "slip it in his box and leave the office post-haste". ; ) -k-

Ya know, Kharyssa, if that's the case, I would talk to your advisor and tell her what's going on with this guy, discuss your fears about the impact he may have on your progress, and solicit her advice about how to handle him. Maybe if she understands what he's doing she won't be so eager to involve him this early in the process. Just a thought...     -Tom

Ya' know what the military do with DUDs don't cha? They call in the expert who either comes in digs the thing up and disarms it OR they explode it in place. Sounds like a job for ADVISOR-PERSON (ta-da!)!! Dependable as an approaching deadline, smarter than the average dead person, able to get plague-ridden corpses to cooperate, i-i-i-it's ADVISOR-PERSON!! Scene 1: Slowly, steathily, ADVISOR-PERSON

Ya' know what the military do with DUDs don't cha? They call in the expert who either comes in, digs the thing up and disarms it OR they explode it in place. Sounds like a job for ADVISOR-PERSON (ta-da!)!! Dependable as an approaching deadline, smarter than the average dead person, able to get plague-ridden corpses to cooperate, i-i-i-it's ADVISOR-PERSON!! Scene 1: Slowly, steathily, ADVISOR-PERSON stalks toward the office. A sickening stench of rotting meat curls in the air. ADVISOR-PERSON takes his trusty shovel and catches his breath. The smell is enough to make anyone retch. The plague-ridden corpse turns slowly around...Eeeeewwwwwww!!! It's horrible!! The corpse has Kharyssa pinned against the wall with it's goolish looks and horrid cackels. As demands and ultimatums are hurled in Kharyssa's direction, ADVISOR-PERSON leaps into the office bra ishing the gleaming shovel. "Get yo measly, stinking paws off that researcher's outline," ADVISOR-PERSON quips. "You should be ashamed! I, ADVISOR-PERSON, have already approved the outline so get wit da program, you stinking pile of ivory tower crap!" Kharrysa sidles around the corpse and plops her approved outline on the rotting desk chair. "I never noticed how much you remind me of someone I met in the Valley of Kings. At least HE was all dried out and didn't stink so much." ADVISOR-PERSON ushers the budding researcher out the door but stops, and brandishes the shovel toward the corpse. "Next time, why don chu consider bein a facilitator and teacher. That's why the ivory tower exists. Help people learn and grow rather than feeding on their creativity to further your evil ways. And take a bath while you're at it. Eeeeewwwwwww!!" End scene. Exit stage left. Stay tuned for the further adventures of...ADVISOR-PERSON!!

Rochelle, I actually snorted while reading this!!! Of course this is all the funnier since we're talking about shovel-wielding archaeologists. Thanks for the (creative) respite... -k-

It's funny how things turn out. My thesis committee met in August to discuss my proposal. One member failed to show up. The proposal was approved, and I later met with the absentee member for her comments. I then did a little more work on my proposal and submitted it to all committee members with a note outlining when I wanted feedback and how they could send it to me. Two of the four committee members provided no feedback - absentee member is one of the two. I've now submitted the proposal to the research unit I'm affiliated with at the university, more for visibility than anything else. One person in the unit suggested presenting it at our monthly reading group - guess who's in charge of the reading group? You guessed it - my committee member who failed to show up at my committee meeting. And she's desparate for something because she took over this year, didn't hustle any interest for September, and it looks like she doesn't have anything for October eithe . HA HA HA.

Rochelle I loved the story - write more of them! :) I think it would make a good theme in the PhinisheD book! K- hang in there - or Rochelle will have to write more silly storys about you and your committee! :) Chrissie

Rochelle, Laughed out lout about your post #7 above. Hang in there Kharyssa. I can see Rochelle writing some satirical academic novel. That's what I read to let off steam. Have you all read Moo by Jane Smiley? Also good David Lodge's Changing places and Small World. Keep the ivory tower in perspective. Any other great academic satires any one know of. Perhaps we could generate a list. Deb

Possession by A.S. Byatt has a nice way with competition in the academy.

Donna recommended "The Straight Man" to me a few days ago. I haven't read it myself but she said it made her laugh out loud. -k-

This was a really nice day. My adviser wants me to go ahead and write up my dissertation proposal now instead of waiting until after I take the advanced exam (one of my committee members is being a little slow about getting the questions together). He says I'm ready, and independent, he is confident in my abilities, and that I already know how to do research. Cool! He also said if I want business cards he will pay for them (I do a lot of industry work, both outreach and projects) out of his grant mone so it doesn't come out of my fellowship. I am going to bottle this day, I may need it some time in the future. and I'm going to hang my little laminated article on my wall to look at.

CarolR Thanks for passing along some of the good things that happened to you - keep it coming. I was curious about the business card thing. Do other people have one?

Grad students I have met at conferences from other schools had them. When I go to a factory representing the university it would be nice to have a card to give the plant managers. If my adviser is along, he gives them his, but many times I go by myself.

You can make your own business cards if you have a computer and nice printer. Office supply places have card stock which is heavy weight paper. With a graphics program like Powerpoint or some of the other ones, you can make business cards, print them out, and chop them up. I like multiple colors which gets expensive if a professional card company makes them but my ink jet does a great job on them. The card stock paper is slightly less thick than professional business cards but they do quite well. Mos of the people I know in gov't make their own. Now if someone else is paying for them, that's another story. :-)

Yes, I have made some for my dad. It seems to me, though, that if the school of engineering wants grad students to make contacts in industry (sometimes it's a class requirement for projects) then we ought to have official cards. I added that to my list of things I think we should get for our fees - along with a stipend for copying costs at the library (10 cents per page!)

My brother does professional screen printing - T-shirts and such, he send out the cards but they are cheap if you buy in large quanity (like 1000 of the same card!) so I have had him do some for me and I've made my own, his are nicer but not always what I need. When I do my own I can talior them to the event, espically helpful as I use both my full name (Mary Christine) and Chrissie at different events and places. Also nice to be able to add or subtract you home address (I have no office or space at scho l anymore, and no longer live in SF). If someone else is paying then it would be a great idea for all to have them, if the students end up paying more it would not be so good I think. Chrissie

I use business cards more as a point of contact than as a business venture. Due to state laws I cannot state I am a psychologist or counselor unless I am licensed. I pass them out to anyone who asks for my phone number (professionally speaking). They are useful and I can't wait until I can use PhD at the end of my name! Jo Ann

Kharyssa: It is your advisor's job to run interference for you. My advisor did that with a committee member whose professional knowledge is currently being questioned at my school. Because of that, he is making all efforts to look more intelligent, usually at the expense of some poor student (does he feel threatened or what?). My advisor talked to him and reminded him that his job was to focus solely on the ethical part of the research, ONLY. This professor "behaved" himself and said little. The moral of he story, you have to motivate or encourage your advisor to protect you, and remind him or her that they are there to help you, and especially, help you get out of school. Jo Ann

Carol-- Wow! Monday WAS a nice day for you (definitely a keeper)! How nice to be recognized as a professional and a colleague by your advisor. And nice of the other person to laminate your fellowship announcement---you must be very well-respected. Nice goin'! Barb

Thanks Barb! And don't forget the Bills beat Miami on Monday, too! An all-around good day!

Hey! Sorry to be late on this one... You can easily make business cards at home using MS Word... the special paper with cut-outs for the cards (which Rochelle mentioned) has its own template in Word. So you just load the paper, load the template, decide on your design and content, copy and paste to all cards, and print. Voila! Here in Denver *everybody* has business cards of some kind. Actually singles hand them out at bars (so if you get a number on a napkin you've been rejected with a wrong number)! I made a bunch because I got tired of trying to give out my email address. -k-

Ironically, I got an email today from a friend who wanted to know if I was interested in business cards. They are getting a deal from the university printing company (which means we'll get the uni logo on it). For the 8 of us, we'll get 250 cards each for about 35 (Canadian) dollars. I put in my order! Have a good weekend all - and Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Canadians.

I can't think of any way to start this message other than -- URG! I foolishly asked Clueless Committee Member (with whom I have had several classes) to write letters of recommendation for me for my apps. I gave them out two weeks ago and explicitly stated that I needed them back by the end of October to make ealry consideration for admission. I even told him that if he couldn't make that deadline that I had another writer lined up. Well, the other two folks have already finished and sent all of their recs, and I am still waiting on CCM to supply. I asked him the other d y when he might have them for me and he explained that he was super busy with grants and probably wouldn't have them ready until the middle of November. HELLO?! I am so frustrated with this prof right now that I can barely say hello to him in the hallway without wanting to spit on his shoes. -k-

K Sounds like you should ask your backup writer to do them, extra letters arriving late maynot be a problem but the needed letters arriving late will be! Good Luck! and if you can a chance give CCM a kink in the pants from me:) Chrissie