dilema
So, as some of you may or may not know, I used to work for a terrible/evil/mean/awful adviser. He makes all of his students and postdocs pretty miserable. I mean, sure, some of them deal with it better than others, but they are all unhappy with him in general. I know some other advisers who some of their students and post-docs love and some hate, so those seem at least personality dependent. My old boss, I think I know of one person in his whole career who seems totally ok with him, though I only know that because of what he said in a public talk. Anyways, he's chemistry prof, so in the chem dept he is infamous for being not a good person to work for. You know what you're getting yourself into when you join the group. But physics folks like myself don't get all that gossip, and so may be tricked into working for him, because he is also very 2-faced and doesn't show his evil side until after you work for him. Ok, that was my intro and motivational paragraph.
Now, in the physics department they are now having the different profs give talks on their research so that the newer grad students can find out who is doing what and thus maybe find an adviser. Well, Voldemort (my nickname for my old boss) is giving a talk next week! Poor physicists may be tricked into working for him because his research is cool sounding and he's a good teacher and he is so excited about science and you just want to like him, till you know the truth. Also, it's hard to get a straight answer from people in the group about how unhappy they are, because it behooves them for the group to get more grad students so they can graduate.
Argh! I don't want any more people to be treated the way he treats people! He's terrible. It bothers me so much that he continues to torment people I care about. I just don't think someone like him should be allowed to advise students. I wish I could do something to warn off these poor grad students who may be tricked into working for him. What can I do to help?
The thing about having a bad boss in grad school is that they hold your degree in their hand and have this power over you beyond a normal boss/employee relationship. If you had a boss that made you miserable at a normal job, you'd probably try to find a new job. But if you change advisers in grad school, it sets you back on your path to your degree, which is why I was so hesitant at the time to switch. As it turns out, I'm probably still going to graduate before I would have graduated in that group, so it was a good move for many reasons.
Now, in the physics department they are now having the different profs give talks on their research so that the newer grad students can find out who is doing what and thus maybe find an adviser. Well, Voldemort (my nickname for my old boss) is giving a talk next week! Poor physicists may be tricked into working for him because his research is cool sounding and he's a good teacher and he is so excited about science and you just want to like him, till you know the truth. Also, it's hard to get a straight answer from people in the group about how unhappy they are, because it behooves them for the group to get more grad students so they can graduate.
Argh! I don't want any more people to be treated the way he treats people! He's terrible. It bothers me so much that he continues to torment people I care about. I just don't think someone like him should be allowed to advise students. I wish I could do something to warn off these poor grad students who may be tricked into working for him. What can I do to help?
The thing about having a bad boss in grad school is that they hold your degree in their hand and have this power over you beyond a normal boss/employee relationship. If you had a boss that made you miserable at a normal job, you'd probably try to find a new job. But if you change advisers in grad school, it sets you back on your path to your degree, which is why I was so hesitant at the time to switch. As it turns out, I'm probably still going to graduate before I would have graduated in that group, so it was a good move for many reasons.