Goggi

science noob, on 04 January 2013 - 04:38 PM, said:

It may sound unpolite, but I don't trust the people I'm surrounded with. I know that people do understand the situation in the group, however, everybody stands for his/her own benefits. Some time ago I have asked people around if I could help/contribute to any of the running projects to learn smth. new, to help move it faster and possibly to have my name on the paper. Obviously, to have somewhere at the end of authors list, but I wanted to have at least something after I understood that my project will not result in any publication. I don't know if it was a good thing to do, maybe not, but it was only option I had seen at that point. Obviously, I got a rejection for everybody wants to secure his/her own profit.

science noob, on 04 January 2013 - 04:38 PM, said:

It became clear gradually. Initially, the picture was very sweet (both in phd program advert. and in personal communication). But gradually I heard stories from other people, observed how people are mistreated, how problematic is to get a paper. I have learned that almost every phd student either was offended/had troubles to finish the thesis/ left the institute to nowhere. If I was told initially that there is a "hands-off" approach, that I would think twice about joining the group (I know that it's very naive point of view and nobody gonna disclose that sort of information).  To understand that your boss has no idea whatsoever what is going on - is not an easy thing to believe to. Specially, when he tries to mask this  by means of verbal manipulation. It would be much easier for me to be said clearly that there will be no supervision from the very beginning. Than I would develop a different strategy and there wouldn't be much of a disappointment now.
I have talked to another group leader that is kind of responsible for grad.students. However, he made it clear that he "has no power" to influence the situation.
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Anyway, all of these things are circumstances that I cannot influence or change for better. I don't have power. Most importantly, I already do not have time.  What is done, is done. I believe that research career is finished for me now. I need to understand what opportunities do I have now, what can I do with my skills etc. Unfortunately, the job market looks rather bad for the moment and I don't see the way it improves. Is is particularly worrying for me because of my foreign background.

There were various reasons why I decided to do a PhD. I definitely felt that my university education (I have a MSc degree) was not enough. I wanted to gain much more practical experience in the field than I had had at that time. I was curious to see the way the research is done, especially high-impact research. I believed that a PhD degree really opens the doors to various career pathways. I have to admit that I have achieved my goals to certain extend. I have seen different people, different groups from different fields. I have gained some hands-on experience.
However, I'm doubtful regarding my career assumptions. One thing if I can work without being mentored - I think I can, but other thing is if the work produces an high-impact outcome which is necessary for the further advancement. The last is a result of the combined efforts of many people. I don't know what to do if my boss doesn't remember facts from the presentation I've made a week ago. The only thing he is try to do is to mask his forgetfulness. As a result there is no "scientific" discussion, but rather "manipulative/provocative" talk. It seems that his mistreatment of phd students is known but nobody really wants to take any action.  Anyway, it's not the matter I would like to focus at. I don't want to spend time discussing things that I cannot change or influence.
Now, a few words regarding career expectations. Though I respect the people that do the good research, I don't feel that academia is something for me. I cannot work productively in such a environment. The problem I see is that everybody is demanded to have excellent publication record to be able to apply both in academia or in industry. There are very few positions were you can get trained/re-trained/educated on-site nowadays (i.m.h.o.). A lot of positions require people with particular set of skills.
I don't really know for which sort of jobs I can apply. In other words, I don't see many options. Teaching is fine but I can lecture only in English.

The spoiled chemicals....