I got a call from my advisor (may he live forever) last night. It seems that the Gang of Four (tm) wants another 12-18 months' worth of research, writing and revision from me. So much for graduating next month.
How does that happen????? That seems like an awful lot of 'extra' research to me...they never let you know that this 'extra research and revision' would be needed as they advised you along the way? Sounds like you are receiving bad advising by the professors and advisors, to me.
Or maybe I am just looking at it from a business standpoint and not an academic standpoint. If I was advising or heading up a year or two long project and then the project was handed to me by my team, and at that point I had to say to the team "we need and extra 12-18 months put in on this" I might get my ass handed to me by myboss...a little brush up / revision might be needed at that point, but not an amount of revision time equal to the total time put in on the project itself.
I think it is a ploy by the professors to keep the grad school student numbers higher...you can't leave grad school until you finish your dissertation, and you can't finish your dissertation until they say you can.
I am sorry to hear about the extra work for you, it just doesn't sound to me like your advisors are letting you know what needs improvement or additional research and revision 'as you go'.
It sounds like a bum deal to me, but you need to keep pushing yourself along, keep the goal in mind.
Plus you get to teach this summer...the stuff dreams are made of.
Oh no! I'm so sorry to hear it. That's the problem with gangs -- they're prone to mob action. I wish I were close enough to buy you a beer (or three). All I can offer is a virtual shoulder to cry on.
Here's hoping that this gets cleared up in your favor.
(Goes through mental rolodex of guys I went to college with from NY/NJ, who are likely to now be in the clearing-up business... if you know what I mean.)
And if not, may your advisor (long life and good health upon him) take this as the outrage it is, and help you polish up everything but the signature on the book contract.
Oh dear lord, that stinks! I'm kinda with John B. on this - if you were actually 18 months out from really being done, shouldn't that have come up sometime before now? Is it a matter of some new angle they want you to tackle?
Meanwhile, I will send multitudes of good thoughts in your direction. If you need anyone to read over stuff, let me know.
I echo everyone else's outrage. And it's truly puzzling that they're only now telling you about additional research, writing, etc.
A heart to heart with your advisor might be in order here. Is this his/her opinion, and if so, why hasn't s/he said something before now. If it's the opinion of others on the committee, what role has s/he played in advocating on your behalf?
Good luck. I'll keep a good thought over these coming days.
We would love to meet you at the planetarium sometime (or somewhere else, even). The Adler is fantastic for a number of reasons. First, it has its own parking lot but most tourists don't know it's there and think they need to park in the Soldier field lot. This means you can often park very close to the door -- a boon when travelling with people with very short legs and attention spans. It's $15 to park, but you can ditch the car there all day and tool around the city from there if you wish. Second, it's not nearly as crowded as the other museums in that area (Field, Aquarium or the Art Institute up the road apiece). Third, the views of the city are fantastic, from both inside and out. Most of the exhibit space is in a glass-walled addition that encircles the original star theater part that was built in the 20s/30s. That means you have panoramic views of the lake and the city. Some of the exhibits take advantage of this. The cafeteria certainly does -- one of the most pleasant dining spots in the city, even taking into consideration the school and scouting groups with whom we shared it. The exhibits themselves are mostly very interesting and well-done. There is a lot of hands-on, interactive stuff. My one complaint is that many of these hands-on exhibits were too high for the hands that wanted to be on them. This meant I came home with a sore back from holding a forty-two pound boy airborn while he manipulated the exhibits. The admission is kind of pricey ($14 for adults, a slight discount for kids), but includes both an audio tour (which was well-suited to our five-year-old space freak's interests as well as our own) and tickets to one star show.
14 comments:
Oh. My. God. I'm so sorry, Lemming. At least they didn't heave you out on your anvil. . . .
How does that happen????? That seems like an awful lot of 'extra' research to me...they never let you know that this 'extra research and revision' would be needed as they advised you along the way? Sounds like you are receiving bad advising by the professors and advisors, to me.
Or maybe I am just looking at it from a business standpoint and not an academic standpoint. If I was advising or heading up a year or two long project and then the project was handed to me by my team, and at that point I had to say to the team "we need and extra 12-18 months put in on this" I might get my ass handed to me by myboss...a little brush up / revision might be needed at that point, but not an amount of revision time equal to the total time put in on the project itself.
I think it is a ploy by the professors to keep the grad school student numbers higher...you can't leave grad school until you finish your dissertation, and you can't finish your dissertation until they say you can.
I am sorry to hear about the extra work for you, it just doesn't sound to me like your advisors are letting you know what needs improvement or additional research and revision 'as you go'.
It sounds like a bum deal to me, but you need to keep pushing yourself along, keep the goal in mind.
Plus you get to teach this summer...the stuff dreams are made of.
Allow me to echo Hugh's Oh. My. God. and add another oft-heard epithet around our house: "Sunsabitches!!!"
You could look on the bright side that this allows your adjunct editing staff more time to review and polish your end product.
Or not. Why don't you wallow a bit and then shoot me an e-mail when you're done.
Oh no! I'm so sorry to hear it. That's the problem with gangs -- they're prone to mob action. I wish I were close enough to buy you a beer (or three). All I can offer is a virtual shoulder to cry on.
That bites. I'm hoping your advisor just called the wrong number and this will all be cleared up soon.
What!?!? Crap!
Here's hoping that this gets cleared up in your favor.
(Goes through mental rolodex of guys I went to college with from NY/NJ, who are likely to now be in the clearing-up business... if you know what I mean.)
And if not, may your advisor (long life and good health upon him) take this as the outrage it is, and help you polish up everything but the signature on the book contract.
Oh dear lord, that stinks! I'm kinda with John B. on this - if you were actually 18 months out from really being done, shouldn't that have come up sometime before now? Is it a matter of some new angle they want you to tackle?
Meanwhile, I will send multitudes of good thoughts in your direction. If you need anyone to read over stuff, let me know.
Speechless here (rare for me), and very sorry I didn't check into your blog yesterday. Hang in there, and let's chat soon.
That is just freakin' insane!
I'll sign up for the editor b theory: wrong number.
Ack!
I am sorry to hear that.
Yikes!
(Sorry, all of the good comments are already taken.)
Lemming--
I echo everyone else's outrage. And it's truly puzzling that they're only now telling you about additional research, writing, etc.
A heart to heart with your advisor might be in order here. Is this his/her opinion, and if so, why hasn't s/he said something before now. If it's the opinion of others on the committee, what role has s/he played in advocating on your behalf?
Good luck. I'll keep a good thought over these coming days.
pax
Matt
We would love to meet you at the planetarium sometime (or somewhere else, even). The Adler is fantastic for a number of reasons. First, it has its own parking lot but most tourists don't know it's there and think they need to park in the Soldier field lot. This means you can often park very close to the door -- a boon when travelling with people with very short legs and attention spans. It's $15 to park, but you can ditch the car there all day and tool around the city from there if you wish. Second, it's not nearly as crowded as the other museums in that area (Field, Aquarium or the Art Institute up the road apiece). Third, the views of the city are fantastic, from both inside and out. Most of the exhibit space is in a glass-walled addition that encircles the original star theater part that was built in the 20s/30s. That means you have panoramic views of the lake and the city. Some of the exhibits take advantage of this. The cafeteria certainly does -- one of the most pleasant dining spots in the city, even taking into consideration the school and scouting groups with whom we shared it. The exhibits themselves are mostly very interesting and well-done. There is a lot of hands-on, interactive stuff. My one complaint is that many of these hands-on exhibits were too high for the hands that wanted to be on them. This meant I came home with a sore back from holding a forty-two pound boy airborn while he manipulated the exhibits. The admission is kind of pricey ($14 for adults, a slight discount for kids), but includes both an audio tour (which was well-suited to our five-year-old space freak's interests as well as our own) and tickets to one star show.
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