In need of a vacation, badly

[solarwind]

I kinda wish I had posted about this yesterday when I was just pissed off and hadn't let it turn into being depressed. So instead of indignant rage, you're going to get depressed moping (which is, of course, just what you always wanted

Comments

[solarwind]

I'm glad to see I'm not just blowing this out of proportion. I sometimes feel like I'm getting all self righteous and making more of things than I should, when we're all guilty of getting people to help us with stuff.

And yes, the guy is a grad. student. But only because he wants a better paying industry job, which I can understand. That said, I don't understand why he's in our program and not just at a Master's program that involves taking classes and nothing else. He clearly doesn't really enjoy research.

And I know my advisor has been annoyed with this douche not doing any work in the past and then trying to brown nose or bluff his way through it. I mean, it's obvious when he tries to talk to either of us about his research that he really doesn't understand what he's doing and hasn't bothered to try. He does try to cover it by coming up with questions to ask, which often have NOTHING to do with our actual research and only make it more obvious. The advisor has been frustrated in the past about this guy not getting anything done, but he's new to the whole advisor thing and hasn't figured out how to handle problem students yet. I also hope the prick gets the boot, but I fear that my advisor won't be able to do it. Either way, it won't happen till after I'm gone.

Also, I have no idea why LJ and the other spelling things (gchat, word, etc.) think "advisor"is spelled wrong (apparently "LJ" is also misspelled, go figure), but it's kinda annoying.

[zhukora1]

I'd have said he should have done his homework better and found a Masters program that didn't involve research (since I think there are plenty in Social Science at least that keep research to a minimum), but in your field does that even happen? I'm not sure how he could really learn it all without firsthand lab experience, which generally = some kind of research participation, whether it's your own or someone else's.

I suppose if I were feeling charitable I could imagine that he had somehow totally misinterpreted your curt tone as a replacement for the words you were saying to him and decided to tell on you as revenge for being "hostile" or something, but what kind of mature adult handles situations that way?

I think your advisor is going to have to learn how to put on their Srs Advisor pants real quick, since once you're gone and he doesn't have you to sponge off of anymore, things are going to go south for him pretty much immediately.

[solarwind]

Actually, most of the Masters programs for science don't require much if any research if you aren't getting them as part of your path towards a PhD. I was rather surprised that the program I'm in now is SO research based, since that is unusual for this level. Sure, the other programs probably have you do a little, but the balk of the program is classes. They don't actually offer any graduate level classes other than research here, so it's a totally different can of worms. And it's not like he didn't know before he came, as he stopped by for an interview and I remember telling him as much. But clearly his trait of not actually listening when people talk didn't just develop over night.

As for you being charitable, that's about the only reason I could actually figure out for all of this. I also told him that if he wanted a lab hard drive he could take the initiative and do the research to get one. I'm not the only one in this lab and it's time someone else started pulling some of the weight around here. But OMG I'm making him do actual WORK! How dare I? Clearly I need to be revenged ASAP! ... the only other explanation I can figure out is even more kindergarten play ground logic, which is that he sees how well I get along with our advisor and wants to tarnish my reputation with the advisor so he can raise his own. I honestly can't put it past him to do something so stupid and immature, but I would like to think that once people get into their twenties that they're passed shit like that.

And the advisor has been slowly learning that he 1) needs Srs Advisor pants and 2) how to use them to good effect, but it's been a slow process. He admitted that I spoiled him as a first student since I'm self motivated, which is a trait missing in my lab mates, and is something he's been struggling with. But that's part of him learning how to be a good manager, and the other bit will be him learning to deal with people like the prick. Either way, it's a good thing I'm leaving by the end of the summer and it won't be my problem (not that it ever should have been).

Also, yay for us being close enough to actually hang out on weekends and whatnot.