VprHis
Get off my lawn, you hooligans!
I'm putting this thread up in order to kinda get an idea from others whether my observations are more or less widespread. Everyone who's been to grad school or done grad or undergrad research, please chime in.
It seems to me that there's a great deal of slave labor going on. I'm surrounded by undergrads who are in the lab for 1 credit of research (~3hr/week commitment, according to the department), yet work 10-20 hours and are pressured to do more unless they want the heave-ho. Of course, they can't leave because they need the recommendation to get into grad school or med school. Half of them are just volunteering their time--unpaid and not receiving credit--but definitely receiving the pressure.
It's similar with the grad students. In the past, I've been reprimanded for only working 80 hours a week. Several times in the past six months or so, I've been threatened with being let go, simply because I was only at school for 50 hours a week, and working at home for another 10-20. I'd be less upset if my doctor hadn't told me in no uncertain terms NOT to work more than 30-40 hours/week for those six months. It was a temporary restriction, and my adviser was aware of it when the threats were made.
I know several students whose advisors or committee members have spread lies about them through the department and gotten the students thrown out.
The worst thing I've seen is that the system doesn't work. There are several layers of safeguards in place to ensure that the students have advocates, someone to ensure that the student has an equal voice in any disputes. The faculty just ignore those safeguards whenever they choose. The university ombudsman didn't even take note of the situation when it was brought to his attention.
Am I wrong? Maybe I'm just whining because I feel I haven't been treated too well up here... any thoughts?
Oh, and to make sure there's no uncertainty about my motive here, let's just say I'm not leaving with the degree I just spent the last 5 years working on.
It seems to me that there's a great deal of slave labor going on. I'm surrounded by undergrads who are in the lab for 1 credit of research (~3hr/week commitment, according to the department), yet work 10-20 hours and are pressured to do more unless they want the heave-ho. Of course, they can't leave because they need the recommendation to get into grad school or med school. Half of them are just volunteering their time--unpaid and not receiving credit--but definitely receiving the pressure.
It's similar with the grad students. In the past, I've been reprimanded for only working 80 hours a week. Several times in the past six months or so, I've been threatened with being let go, simply because I was only at school for 50 hours a week, and working at home for another 10-20. I'd be less upset if my doctor hadn't told me in no uncertain terms NOT to work more than 30-40 hours/week for those six months. It was a temporary restriction, and my adviser was aware of it when the threats were made.
I know several students whose advisors or committee members have spread lies about them through the department and gotten the students thrown out.
The worst thing I've seen is that the system doesn't work. There are several layers of safeguards in place to ensure that the students have advocates, someone to ensure that the student has an equal voice in any disputes. The faculty just ignore those safeguards whenever they choose. The university ombudsman didn't even take note of the situation when it was brought to his attention.
Am I wrong? Maybe I'm just whining because I feel I haven't been treated too well up here... any thoughts?
Oh, and to make sure there's no uncertainty about my motive here, let's just say I'm not leaving with the degree I just spent the last 5 years working on.
