Dear graduate students, don't let yourself be gaslit. Whether you consider them your chair, supervisor, advisor, or Principal Investigator, it is probably true that they suck. In this blog, we will talk about how and why supervisors can suck, what their main roles are (or could be) and what you can do to get the most out of them.
Why (some) supervisors suck
Now don't get me wrong, I don't believe that all of them are narcissistic sociopaths. I also don't believe academia is inherently divided into "good" supervisors and "bad" supervisors, and whichever you got assigned to speaks to which layer of Academic Hell you managed to wiggle yourself into. Instead, I believe that many of them can be more easily described as "untrained" and "un-incentivised", which can lead to them sucking.
"Untrained" because, let's face it, virtually none of them have attended any form of management or leadership or adult pedagogy education, and, even if such education presented itself to them, why should they bother participating? What's actually in it for them?
To fully explore the concept of "un-incentivisation", let us start by examining your list of potential goals and priorities during your graduate studies:
Interest in your topic.
Laying the foundation of a strong career (likely, but not only, academic).
Publishing, maybe? (Because who doesn't want to publish in those sweet exclusive academic Journals).
We never really imagined at the beginning of our studies that "maintaining healthy mental wellbeing" and "still actually thinking of ourselves as intelligent and whole human beings" would be such a high priority throughout, but let us add these to the list.
Most importantly, whether you admit it or not, your main goal is to graduate.
(If you can only have two of these, may I suggest 4 and 5?)
Now let us review the reasons your supervisor may want you as a graduate student:
To get more research done - who doesn't need a lab rat?
To get more publications under their belt (related to point 1 but sometimes not quite the same thing).
To have a pool of tutors, lecturers, and co-supervisors to choose from to reduce their workload.
To appear big and important.
Your graduating is rarely a priority for your supervisor unless the institution explicitly states it as a condition for their promotion. And, while maybe they have found a fondness in their heart for you somewhere... they would swap you out for a postdoc in a heartbeat.
Many institutions do not prioritise lab and student management nearly as much as they should, and many supervisors, especially in early and mid-career, may just not have the time. Therefore, despite their lack of training on how to run a lab and poor incentivisation to help you where you need them most, many are not (I hate myself for saying this) bad people. They are merely the inevitable result of an already exploitative system.
Regardless of the above, the archetypes of supervisors vary wildly and some may be better suited to us. Personal idiosyncrasies can make a difference in how you experience your graduate years. Maybe you would prefer someone who micromanages over someone aloof, for instance?
There is, however, the cruel supervisor. The person who will give you heaps of work that does not contribute to your final dissertation or career. The person who strings you along with promises of funding and conferences and publications, yet ultimately includes you in none of them. The person who, just as you think you may be finishing at the end of the year, publishes your results without you. The person who refuses to advocate for you despite you running their labs for them over the last seven years... or, worse, goes out of their way to badmouth you to others. You know what? Let us sprinkle some general harassment and microaggression into the mix because it typically goes with the territory.
Ah, yes... We all know one of those. If we are lucky, this supervisor is not our own. If we are unlucky, it is not only our own but also someone universally considered important in the field or institution, meaning there is nothing we can do about it that will not be a metaphorical punch in the gut to our careers.
If this is your situation, I am extremely sorry. Academia on the whole is still very poor at managing these people.
And, while there is a lot of advice online as to how to handle this, the most important piece of advice is to get out as soon as you can: through a transfer to another advisor or lab, or by making sure you have a mentor who can help you complete your dissertation as quickly as possible and maybe protect you from any potential fallout.
Your supervisor's roles
Regardless of whether your supervisor is on Santa's good or naughty list, it is empowering to know what they can do so that you can better manage them. Let us go from the most basic to the most idealistic.
1) They sign off your paperwork.
Whether it is re-registering for another year, filling out your intention to submit, finalising your defense date, or telling your funders you are, in fact, still studying, the supervisor is often the "thing" you need to complete the necessary admin to eventually graduate. This admin isn't always "easy", but it is the most basic expectation.
2) They give you feedback
So this one can be divided up further really. Not all feedback is constructive, honest, or helpful. Some of it can be emotionally taxing and ambiguous. However, it is extremely important during your graduate studies to receive some feedback. Ideally, the feedback provided to you will be timely, thoughtful, and accurate. Maybe it will even be clear and actionable. Who knows?
Feedback in this context can and should start right from the beginning of your studies when refining your topic or research proposition/proposal. However, ideally, you will continue receiving feedback regarding your various chapter drafts throughout this time, and receive advice on your data collection and analysis strategies and outputs.
3) They help you structure your research
I remember visiting a lab once where protocols were laminated and inserted into a methodology book. Such blatant organisation offended me so greatly because my own experience has been that academic processes need to be worked out from scratch by the student herself. That student, of course, was me.
And that, my friends, is why toxic academic expectations persist. You can mentor a good, self-sufficient researcher without having your graduate lab be completely (excuse my French) laissez-faire.
Whether agreements regarding your timeline, the protocol for the methodology, or merely a discussion of your written dissertation structure, good supervisors give you at least some structure. Good labs ensure you understand the research you are getting involved in and the processes in place. This may involve imparting ideal standards in terms based on the supervisor's own knowledge and experience, or helping you find courses or workshops so that you may develop your own.
4) They provide you with funding and resources
Funding exists on so many spectra and can be the focus of a thousand more blog posts. It can range from full tuition funding to travel expenses for conferences. Not all otherwise good supervisors will have access to lots of money and funding channels. However, many may (and should) be vaguely aware of funding opportunities for their students and encourage them to apply.
At the very least, they should assist you in your funding applications through references and form-filling. Funding for tuition and living expenses (if not tied directly to a supervisor's grant) still requires some administration on their part.
Many supervisors are also attached to resources of other kinds: lab space and equipment, for instance. Computationally heavy simulation research or analysis requires at least one lab computer that can be accessed from somewhere... anywhere... that has the relevant specs.
If your supervisor does not have such equipment, they should at least have some knowledge as to how to access this equipment and be upfront about potential costs to you from early in your project. If they flat out do not know what is needed or who to turn to, it is possible that they should not be your primary supervisor or connect you to a co-supervisor who has such access.
It is worth noting that some schools are far better at aligning your projects with appropriate supervisors than others. So while some of you reading this may think this is such a bizarro piece of advice... count yourselves lucky.
5) They advocate for you and contribute to your career development
An academic career is one marred with cronyism. You need connections and (at the very least) excellent references by the end of your graduate years to better ensure a successful career. This is a frustrating and terrible truth. A good supervisor will see your potential and help you pave your way to a good career. This could be by introducing you to their network, writing glowing references, and including you in their broader projects and publications.
Let me be very clear about something: if your supervisor is atrocious at all points 1-4, they will likely be terrible at point 5. This is the hard truth of it. If you are loyally sticking to a lab because you want to receive glowing references at the end of your PhD (if, in fact, it does ever end), but have had a terrible experience this entire time, your supervisor does not suddenly become reliable.
It is also possible for two students in the same lab to be treated quite differently in this regard. This may be because one is just better suited to these opportunities than the other, or because of favouritism or prejudice outside of your control. If the former, a good supervisor will still advocate for you in terms of where you can improve and help you find a space that suits your talents.
If the latter... I am sorry. It is hard to be the black sheep and not know how to be treated better. I strongly recommend asking directly for advice or finding an alternative space where you are appreciated or a mentor who appreciates and nurtures your talents. Sometimes these spaces are within academia, sometimes they lie outside of it.
What about your role?
Of course, even the most well-meaning, organised supervisor needs something to work with. It is important for you to make these steps as easy as possible for them. For that, here are three important considerations to maintain your relationship with your supervisor and ensure you get the most out of them.
1) Give them time
If you are constantly springing forms and chapters on them the day before they are due, chances are you are not allowing your supervisor to do their best.
Writing references, reviewing chapters, and signing documents is BORING and needs one to be in the right frame of mind. For simple things, give them a few days; for entire reviews, give them at least 1-2 weeks.
Similarly, be respectful of their off time. Weekends, holidays and sick days are basic labour rights. Expecting immediate responses to emails is just plain rude, especially if it is not during business hours.
2) Communicate with them
There comes a time in many students' lives when they may kind of "peace out" for a short while. They haven't seen or talked to their supervisors in a few weeks (or even months) and are terrified to send them the chapter they have worked on for fear that they "hate them". Maybe you haven't touched your research at all, and are now too terrified to ask for help.
If this is your case, the only thing you can do is send an email. This can be as simple as saying, "I am sorry I have been avoidant these last few weeks, and I am aware I am behind schedule. Is it possible for us to meet sometime next week to reevaluate where I am?"
One way to avoid getting yourself into this situation is by communicating throughout. If you are struggling to find a will to work on the things you agreed upon initially, they may help by suggesting an alternative task to work on in the meantime. If your struggles are deeper, asking for a temporary medical leave is far easier to do early on than when it all feels too late.
3) Learn to understand your own work needs
We all work differently and have different needs. Even a supervisor with extensive management training will require you to put in work. And figuring out a schedule that suits you and your research requires a little inward knowledge.
Are you a morning person or a night owl? What about your project can you already plan? Do you have a timeline in place? What challenges do you anticipate in your research? What kind of accountability system do you require to ensure you are making progress?
These are questions you are often meant to deal with in your proposal/proposition stage. While they seem like generic ideas (and really... to be honest, they are...), these are the things we need when undergoing relatively unstructured work expectations. These are easier for some people to deal with than others who may require a lot more structure.
Knowing what you need (and communicating these needs to others who can help you, including your supervisor) is crucial for a harmonious relationship and a complete dissertation.
Final thoughts
Many of the "problems" with supervisors stem from systemic issues that are way outside of our control. In fact, many of these issues are even outside of their control. If your supervisor is early or mid-career, chances are high that they are already quite thoroughly exploited, with many different roles and expectations placed upon them.
This isn't your problem, per se, but recognising what you need from them and how they can help you ensures you can manage your own time effectively. For those of you who are reading this before settling into a lab: now you have some ideas as to what to look for or ask about in potential advisors.
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