Is it correct to give top priority for survival in academics?

[n.karthick]

Hi,
I am a postgraduate student doing Master of Science(by research) in a reputed Institute in India.
I registered for my course on January 2008 and I have not yet completed my course.

The requirement for completion of this course is to get a research paper published in reputed journal.

I joined this course with the aim that I can learn more and do "useful" research work.

Soon after I joined, my senior colleague of my group advised me to publish a paper by doing minor work and then do whatever I want in research.

I rejected his advice and now I am now in a terrible situation. I could not survive also and I didn't produce any significant research output (publication). The reason is I took a problem which is beyond my level and I am struggling with it. I have made a significant improvement in my level of thinking of my subject, learned a lot, understood the basics, yet i could not publish a paper.

In the same group, a person who joined 1.5 years later than me has done a minor work (he extended the work of our senior colleague) and could publish 2 papers within a very short span of time. Please note that my research problem is formulated by me and for finding that itself I took more than 1 year.

My research guide is praising him (the person who got 2 papers) like anything and he is totally unhappy with me because I don't have a paper.

I got heavy stress because of this bad treatment and I could not continue my work. Nowadays I feel, why I ignored the advice of my senior. If I had done a minor modification work or an extension of my senior work and get a paper, i would have completed my course long back.

After putting much effort and time, what I got is bad name and inferiority complex.

My doubt is that whether survival should be given topmost priority? what should I do? Is it wrong to try a tough problem and fail? how could I manage my research and convince myself?

 

[TMFKAN64]

There is no shame in trying to solve a tough problem and failing. Professors fail to solve tough problems all the time.

And there is the problem. You are *not* a tenured professor. You don't have the luxury to fail. As you have discovered the hard way.

You were a fool for not taking your senior colleague's advice.

 

[Leveret]

It's not wrong to try a tough problem and fail, but you have to be prepared to deal with the consequences of such.

Would it be possible for you to ask your research guide for a smaller project that would get your course out of the way, and then ask if he/she were willing to keep you on so you could continue working on the longer one? Provided it legitimately interests you, that is.

 

[n.karthick]

Would it be possible for you to ask your research guide for a smaller project that would get your course out of the way, and then ask if he/she were willing to keep you on so you could continue working on the longer one? Provided it legitimately interests you, that is.

Yes, I discussed with my Prof. and requested him for making a simplified version of my big problem so that I can finish within in a month or so. But at this moment I don't have time to complete my original problem as such.

But my inner consciousness always says that I am doing wrong. I am fighting with myself. The question that comes to my mind often is, why I have not done this before (that is doing a feasible problem) and once chosen a path why I have to deviate from that just for survival.

Am I doing a mistake by reducing my goals for the purpose of getting a degree? I couldn't convince myself. I worry because once I do this, will it become my habit (compromising with situation)? Is it good for a person who is aspiring for research?

 

[G01]

Am I doing a mistake by reducing my goals for the purpose of getting a degree? I couldn't convince myself. I worry because once I do this, will it become my habit (compromising with situation)? Is it good for a person who is aspiring for research?

There's an old saying relating to poker: "You've got to know when to hold them and when to fold them."

There is a difference between putting the hard problem on the side and dropping it completely. You can always go back to it once you get your degree. Also, being able to solve any problem that has not yet been solved, regardless of how complex it is, is still an accomplishment.

From now on listen to your senior colleagues. Remember, they are "senior" for a reason.

 

[Choppy]

It sounds to me like the lesson here isn't so much about what you can or cannot do, rather, what you can accomplish in a relatively short timespan.

Don't be too hard on yourself. I don't know how it works at your school, but here at least part of the blame would fall on the academic committee and the student's supervisor. When you chose a project, you have to come up with a research plan. Of course, you will inevitably end up deviating from that plan, but the people on your committee would be in a position to advise you as to whether it is realistic to meet your initial goals.

So now that you're in this situation, you have to look for the best way to solve it. This is where it would be a good idea to go to your supervisor and come up with a revised plan. It may not be perfect, and it may not be consistent with everything you set out to do originally, but part of the reason you're still a student is because you are still developing the tools you need to work on the bigger problems.

 

[mal4mac]

Get a job as a patent officer and continue working on the hard problem - we have to have some mavericks out there ignoring their 'seniors' or nothing *really* new will get done - Einstein went his own way.

 

[MathematicalPhysicist]

Get a job as a patent officer and continue working on the hard problem - we have to have some mavericks out there ignoring their 'seniors' or nothing *really* new will get done - Einstein went his own way.

Einstein wasn't the maverick you think he was, he did a PhD as everyone who went to physics or maths professionally did and does.

 

[median27]

Your problem brings back the memory of my hardships in doing my 3 projects which is feasibility study, field study, and project study (w/ a miniature) that took place in a single subject when i was a sophomore undergrad student.

All it takes was a brave heart to pursue such projects and to work persistently under pressure; not aiming for a substandard work. But learn also to go for the paths that may not put you at a greater risk and reserve that trail-blazer attitude for a better path to take in the near future.

 

[mathwonk]

walk before you run. if you do not survive you cannot achieve much. first survive, then after the stress is lessened, aim higher.

1st chakra is survival. 2nd is enjoyment, 3rd chakra is ego fulfillment. 4th is compassion. 5th is teaching.

survival is first. but do not despair. the partial scientific progress you made on the hard problem will be of use to you after you insure survival.

and you have learned something. becoming wiser is also useful.