How to have a Positive Relationship with your PhD Supervisor 

This is the most common problem and could be very costly to the science! I have only figured these out until later PhD/Postdoc!

Thank you Suleman, you may also like these two recent videos: Get Through PhD Without Conflicts - People Skills! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-K_lJIT1wu8s.html Here's How To Keep Track of PhD Supervisor Meetings! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-oW7ZUHSGp6g.html

@@PhDCoffeeTime definitely going to give them a try. Keep up the good work and Thanks for sharing 😊

Welcome!

Glad it was helpful :)

Glad you think so! Let me know if these tips work well for your situation.

Great that you found it helpful! There is no perfect Ph.D. advisor, the best one is the one you can graduate from :)

Hi Fufukat, thank you for your sharing. This happens to me as well, you have to learn not to take things personally. Professors are usually very busy, so when they ignore you, it is normal and you can learn to take it as a grain of salt! If an email is ignored, I would do the following: - don't immediately assume it is my own fault, the person could just be busy - write an email, replying to the same email (from "sent email") and begin by "Further to my last email, I would to follow up with you..." - Be specific, make it easy to understand "what do you need" from that person - make it a manageable task, be sure you are not asking for things that would take longer than 15-30 min of that person's time (except you are revising a manuscript) - Be sure you use professional English in emails (avoid jokes, unprofessional language). It's always safer to "overdress" in email, but be more casual in real life.

Hi Tahir, Sometimes, having clearer written communications after meetings will help both of you. And you can help your supervisor by remembering the commitment by writing effective email reminders. I suggest that you give these "overcommunication" approaches a try and see if your working relationship with your supervisor will improve. Most of the time, supervisors are too busy and sometimes forgetful. You should also understand that especially the young professors, they have a really stressful job so don't take it personally. Another suggestion I would give is that to ask "who you can ask help from", for example, if you need more help on certain lab procedure and your advisor cannot commit to your daily problems. It is fair to ask, is there a technician/ alumni/ senior PhD whom I can write my questions to. It's not impossible to change supervisor, considering most 1st year PhD students are focused mostly on course work. However, you have to build a strong case to the Institution that there is a strong reason, and you are not the person causing the problem, and having black & white communication is essential to build a case that the University can be convinced. That means you will need to have email/ witness to demonstrate the problem you are pointing out. Also, be prepared that you might have to take more time to get into the new program (some of your courses may not transfer, and you will need more time to complete them). Also, do you have a graduate coordinator/ consellor in your institution that can give you private consultation and share available options? I would ask for a confidential meeting with someone in that position and learn more about your options.