r/PhDStress

I am (M25) a Ph.D. scholar from a Tamilnadu state University of India. I am suffering a lot, due to my guide's personal (buying tea, coffee, food for her family and her colleagues) academic (admission advertising, conducting classes, seminars and exams, including paper correction and internal marks assessment) and administrative work (stock verification, department information data preparation, what all are requested by administration office- mostly by the registrar) like wise lots of imposition takes place on not only myself, all the registered scholars.

They are getting a salary of ₹2.5L per month. But they decided that the scholars who are getting URF (University Research Fellowship ₹5000 per month), they have to conduct the university semester exams.

I have taken leave for the past two working days due to escape from this shit, by using the name of assembly election. I didn't like to go to the department and laboratory. They are giving more stress day by day by unnecessary workload.

I have completed my research work, being ready to submit my synapsis and thesis.

How can I handle these monsters? dear mates.

I am looking for honest advice from people with experience in PhDs, supervision, or academia-industry setups.

I am currently working full-time in the industry (computer science) and enrolled in a PhD at a European university. My current supervisor is also a scientific advisor to my company. The PhD is mostly remote, with only occasional short visits to the university.

Over the past four years, I have had ongoing issues with supervision. Expectations often feel closer to a full-time on campus PhD, but the guidance has not been very clear or consistent. Feedback can take one to two months on some sections of the draft, and the direction can change from one meeting to another.

So far, I have one publication. Another paper wasn't allowed to be submitted due to quality concerns, and one is in the pipeline to get his review. I looked into his other students. His full-time on campus PhD students typically take 5.5 years to finish.

We recently had a meeting to discuss expectations and timeline, but I still did not get any concrete answers. The responses were mostly along the lines of "it depends."

I do not have unlimited time. My employer wants me to wrap this up asap, and there is pressure from that side as well.

Now I am considering changing supervisors. I know another professor (He will be joining my employer on sabbatical leave soon) personally from a past internship. He seems much more flexible and responsive, and he is open to working with my current work as it is.

The downside is that he is not as directly aligned with my exact research area. My company is okay with switching supervisors and has left the decision to me.

Has anyone switched supervisors at a late stage and achieved a good result?

Any red flags I should watch for in the transition process?

Is it common for industry PhDs to have these kinds of supervisory conflicts?

im in my 3rd year, going to start my 4th this fall. 0 publications, i am incompetent as hell. i put in all the hours, do everything my advisor asks me to run. i was bullied my first two years and was put to work with a bitter postdoc during my third. i ended up hating the program i worked so hard for. i think somewhere along the line, everytime i cried in tears about how an academic weapon was reduced to a loser, i genuinely stopped thinking about science and worked like a robot. my work was given to a "smarter" 2nd year and i was put on the next wing of the project. my advisor doesnt know what to do with me (fire me? keep me? idk.) im scared of my career prospects in indutry with basically no pubs.

with tears in my eyes as i type this incoherent rant, as justice for the 16-year-old who dreamt of science, as justice for the sophomore who got her first mini research project and loved it, and as my final act of love, i will give it one last shot.

i think.

idk what else i will do if not.

I am not sure if anyone here was able to attend grad school with a kid or and pass, but I’ve been very burn out lately thinking that my grandparents don’t live forever. (Obviously)

It’s hard to imagine them not being here for such a big life event, either way. I have been very blessed to have them in my life thus far, as many aren’t that lucky to still have their grandparents around.

I have always wanted kids, and I have always wanted to obtain my doctorate. Since I took a little longer to figure out exactly what I wanted to specialize in (PsyD, Doctor of Clinical Psychology to become a neuropsychologist) I’ll be around 35 when I graduate, potentially older if I don’t match immediately.

It does suck that having kids also has a timeline, as your body cannot it forever. So I have been leaning that way, as I’ve always wanted to be a mother. I’ve been trying to figure out how I can just “tough it out” before I accept any programs, but it’s all been a lot to try and process.

If anyone here has any advice, I would love it.

I think my PI enjoys making me cry. He seems to know how to push my buttons in just the right order, and when I have started crying, he doesn't stop. Today, I made the a call on an experiment, having refered to the other lab members; I decided to make my own choice to throw out the experiment I was performing this week. My PI prepared a series of questions, stating "Did you ask your lab mates?", "What did they say?", and "They could have felt undermined by your decision (to throw it out)". I struggled to put myself back together after this meeting, and I have been crying most weeks because of personal clashes in the group. I wish he would see how much effort I am putting in, but instead I am left to feel humiliated.

The experiment was thrown out for a perfectly valid reason. How do I not let it upset me when it means so much to me? I take every feedback to heart.

hello everyone, I’m in the last 6 months of my PhD program and I feel like I’ve completely sabotaged myself.

For most of my program, I worked inconsistently. I lost momentum over and over, avoided things, and now I’m here with no publications and a thesis that still needs to be written. I basically have to do in a few months what I should have done over years.

The frustrating part is that I do have a clear plan now. I reduced my work hours, cut out social stuff, and set up a realistic schedule to finish a paper and my thesis. On paper, it’s doable.

But when I actually sit down to work, everything falls apart.

I open my laptop, pull up my documents and papers, and instead of focusing, I get hit with this intense wave of regret and anxiety. I keep thinking about all the time I wasted. It’s not just thoughts*,* it feels physical, like this heavy, painful pressure. I get stuck in loops of “I should have done this years ago,” “I don’t deserve this degree,” “whatever I produce now will be mediocre.”

It’s like I’m grieving my own PhD while still being in it.

I want to finish. I need to finish. But I feel blocked every time I try to actually do the work. The impostor syndrome is really loud right now, louder than ever and the idea that I’ll end up submitting something mediocre makes me feel even worse about myself and question the whole purpose of doing a PhD .

for those who went through a similar situation, how did you deal with the regret and mental paralysis while still getting the work done? I feel like I’m losing my mind.

I don’t need it to be perfect anymore. I just don’t know how to stop the constant mental spiral long enough to actually do the work.

Hi all, I’m looking for some outside perspective on a situation with my supervisor that has been escalating over the past year. I’ll try to keep this to the point and include a timeline:

Background:

I work in a research center at a college. My role involves coordinating research projects, supporting fellows, and developing materials (presentations, protocols, etc.), and I have published a paper. For most of 2025, my working relationship with my supervisor was positive.

Timeline

Early 2025 (Jan–August)

• Working relationship was positive
• I was able to complete tasks independently with guidance
• Communication felt collaborative

September 2025

• I got into my first disagreement with my supervisor

*Our relationship drastically changed after this point*

September 2025 (Research Symposium)

• A research symposium took place when I was 9 months pregnant
• My work contributed to the event
• During acknowledgments:
  • My name was not mentioned
• Supervisor treated me horribly at the symposium. For instance, the photographer was showing pictures from Day 1 of the event and there were some nice pictures of me. A fellow complimented me, which made my supervisor go to the photographer to delete those pictures of me.

September-December 2025

• I went on maternity leave
• 1 week after I gave birth, my supervisor texted me to ask for drafts of research materials that she had assigned for me to work on the day before giving birth. One of them was a presentation on a paper that I wrote with her as a second author. I worked on the drafts during my maternity leave and then sent them to her.
• While I was on leave:
  • The work I had contributed to was presented
  • My contributions were not clearly acknowledged

January 2026 (Conference)

• My supervisor asked to meet me in person at a conference
• The interaction felt tense and more like being questioned/interrogated than a collaborative discussion
• After this, I became uncomfortable with informal in-person meetings
• Our quarterly goal-setting form was due soon, and she gave me my first negative feedback after having previous goal-setting forms that were positive

March 2026 (Conference)

• I contributed to the conference and gave a presentation
• I noticed:
  • my name was not included in acknowledgments
  • my name was not included in the conference booklet
• At the same time as my presentation, another session (CV workshop) was scheduled at the last-minute by my supervisor for fellows:
  • most fellows attended that instead
  • my session had ~15 attendees out of ~100 conference participants

Late March – Early April 2026

• I began working on a research task (protocol development)
• I sent multiple emails asking for clarification before completing the work
• I tried to ensure alignment before submitting

April 2026 (HR involvement + escalation)

• I reached out to HR for guidance and requested mediation
• During another conference, my supervisor asked to meet in person again
• Because of the prior January interaction, I declined and told her I had contacted HR and preferred structured communication***********************************************************After this point, I noticed a clear shift:
• much more detailed, step-by-step instructions
• repeated follow-ups on items I had already completed
• increased scrutiny of my work
• emails suggesting I have a “disconnect” in understanding tasks

Most recent situation

• I completed an assignment after asking for clarification multiple times
• Feedback I received from supervisor:
  • stated that instructions had always been clear
  • suggested I have difficulty processing directions
• When I explained my approach and prior questions, the response doubled down on this framing

Where things stand now

• HR has escalated my concerns to the Provost’s office
• I’m trying to:
  • keep communication professional
  • document everything
  • focus on completing my work

At the same time:

• I’m being asked to meet in person again on a weekly basis with my supervisor
• I’m not comfortable doing so without a mediator given prior experiences

My questions:

1. How would you handle a supervisor who:
   • gives limited initial direction
   • then provides detailed corrections after the fact
   • frames the issue as your misunderstanding?
2. Did any of you have HR forward your complaint to the office of the provost? If so, what happened?
3. Is it reasonable to request communication stay written or mediated right now?
4. Any advice on protecting myself professionally while this is being reviewed?

Appreciate any insight.

I’m doing a PhD and honestly I don’t know if it’s worth it anymore.

My project is related to AI, but my program doesn’t offer any courses on it (my background is in literature). I’m expected to find a company on my own for an internship, plus arrange a research stay abroad by myself. On top of that, I’m supposed to publish papers, but I barely have time to actually work on my research because I spend most of my time doing administrative tasks for the department.

Lately I’ve been feeling constantly under pressure and I think I’m heading toward burnout. I’m really not doing well, at least a couple of times a week I end up breaking down because of this, and it’s starting to affect my mental health. The thing is, I actually love learning and writing. But right now I feel completely demotivated and I can’t see any light at the end of the tunnel.

Maybe this is just a rough period where everything is overlapping, and I hope that’s the case. But I genuinely don’t know anymore. Is it really worth it? Do I actually need this?

Has anyone been in a similar situation? Did things get better, or did you decide to leave?

Thx

I’ve been struggling for months (~5 mo now) with my PhD work, environment, external life (i moved here alone) and I really just need some advice and support from others. I have another post that goes into the details about what I’m going through but honestly, i just wsnt to know if I should call it quits. There’s people in my program with half my grit and tenacity, and I want to get my degree but fuck… i dont know if I can keep treading waters. Work feels more draining than it ever is rewarding, even writing papers sucks for me as well. Considering transitioning to industry.

I'm a PhD student in a developing country in the Southern Cone.

In academic circles, the PhD life in developed countries is often portrayed as a serious job involving professional management, productivity metrics, and regular meetings. Comparing this ideal to my reality is deeply frustrating.

My experience has been incredibly solitary. I work with dry lab so it means I don't need to be physically present, but we also lack any routine for virtual or in-person meetings. As a result, I barely know my fellow grad and lab researchers. To me, science shouldn't be a solo journey, and this lack of structure and management is causing a personal crisis.

I find the absence of routine check-ins strange. Is this common for you? I attribute this to a "non-existent" management model where there is no real sense that our work is significant.

Is this normal? How does lab/program management and supervising work in your country?

Doctoral programs are no joke, juggling work, life, and assignments can get overwhelming. What helped me most was having a clear plan for each task and not rushing submissions before having my paper thoroughly edited by my editor.

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Hi hlo mates! Currently I'm pursuing masters in psychology and doing a research about PhD scholars publication pressure, as my final semester Thesis, which was almost completed now. The thing is my guide expect me to publish it as an article in a reputed journal most likely Scopus indexed journals.

There are lot of Journals out there, but as a student I'm unable to pay for publication fee which is usually more than 10k. So I'm looking for Journal which has subscription view, where I don't need to pay for publication, the peer review within a month, low impact factor - where the rejection chances are less.

Suggest or Guide me where to I look for

Hi all, first time posting. I'm in my first of a 4 year PhD and have no sense of what should be expected (nothing to base it off). When I started the goal was: year 1 meta analysis, year 2 observational quant, year 3 quant eval of intervention, year 4 qual. These were actually put in the PhD ad and predetermined for applicants to match funding.

I'm 7 months in and have pre-registered my protocol and nearly completed a very complex data extraction for the meta analysis (doing everything to gold standard), currently ahead of schedule. I've also done 20/30 ECTs needed over the 4 years on my supervisors request. Outside of this I have contributed to a broader research project as well.

I have to prep my 4 year thesis proposal, but this has now become a more complex thesis, with a novel model development and testing for paper 2 and application for paper 3. I agree that this is much stronger but it puts a lot of pressure on me and I am feeling like I haven't done enough and that I'm behind or failing.

Any guidance or sense checking would be hugely appreciated. I am meeting with my supervisor soon and want to have a sense of how I'm doing outside of it as I'm a bit out of sorts.

Hello my fellow weary scholars. I'm looking into some laboratory research that essentially has not been done since the 1920s and if further experimentation has been completed, most of it was done in countries outside the US in the early 2000s.

Thus I'm running not only sparse data sets that my advisor is reallllyyyy keen on trying to tie our current methods to, I cannot get all the information because a few papers are in Spanish, Japanese, and German. Unfortunately I took high school spanish which the final exam was just going to a restaurant and ordering food in Spanish. Needless to say I'm no polyglot.

*Does anyone have recommendations for translating academic papers well? Any AI you recommend? Paid service? I don't have time to binge Duolingo unfortunately and I'm at a pretty white school so low chance on going to a handful of bilingual colleauges.*

My PI is acting like knowing these narratives from pre-great depression era are going to make or break the data even though what we are attempting is markedly different, and the prior data is just nor readily avialable save for the 3 papers I've been able to scrunge up on the topic. I get that knowing whether we have been able to repeat or compare to the past is important but we are doing things so different now I'm not really sure its worth the time, BUUT I'll give it the good ole try. So any help much appreciated.