'Frankly, he's a clown': Good-for-nothing PhD supervisor gets called out when his student reveals his secret nickname

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Jesse Kessenheimer • Writer and Editor
Jan 15, 2024 1:00 PM EST

Teachers are the compass by which students can find their way through the vast seas of human knowledge. If you're lucky, your teacher is a trustworthy guide and can help you discover every corner of our universe. But sometimes, your assigned teacher is a total dud who can hardly point due north. As many of us can attest, most teachers fall into the latter category, but when you're a PhD candidate struggling to find your way, it's frustrating when your predecessors and advisors fall short of their duties.

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  • Becoming a doctor is hard enough as it is on your own. That's why in modern times, when you're a PhD candidate and studying hard to get that little honorific title, you don't go at it alone; you're assigned an advisor. However, if you're one of the unlucky few who receives an assigned teacher who is entirely useless, you may as well be learning everything about your doctorate by your lonesome. 

  • In our next story, a disgruntled PhD student, who was paired with a terrible advisor, accidentally let his predecessor know what he really thought of him. And it wasn't pretty. Scroll for the entire hilarious tale of accidental burns, roasts, and jests that turned the tide for this student's confidence.

  • 01
    10:10 20 APRIL 4 NEW MESSAGES New Notification! Meeting with at 12:00pm
    via u/canva
  • 02
    r/tifu Posted by u/2kgOfSlaw 19 hours ago TIFU for not putting my phone face down in a meeting S I do not have a good relationship with my thesis supervisor. His comments are borderline hostile and borders on insulting a good chunk of the time.
    via u/2kgOfSlaw
  • 03
    I've started calling him Dr. McChucklesHut cause frankly he's a clown. His "help" has been useless and he set me back more than anything. He's structuring his "help" to get his class material without having to do any of the work himself. So my weekly reminders say "Suffering with Dr. McChucklesHut".
    via u/2kgOfSlaw
  • 04
    Today I have an early meeting with him and didn't change the event on my phone. So I went to the meeting and left my phone face up and the event reminder for my later appointment with my supervisor and he saw what I called our meetings on my phone.
    via u/2kgOfSlaw
  • 05
    TL;DR- I didn't put my phone face down during a meeting with my thesis supervisor and my notifications window came up for my later meeting with him which says "Suffering with Dr. McChucklesHut", letting my thesis supervisor see what little I think of him.
    via u/2kgOfSlaw
  • 06
    Tickle MySweetspot. 4 hr. ago He should be grateful you gave him his doctorate title in your insult. You could have really gone to town and called him Mr!
    via u/TickleMySweetspot
  • 07
    flashfizz 19 hr. ago I mean just own it. You're suffering through your thesis as did he and everyone else writing one. and the name Dr McChucklesHut isn't all that bad. He'll be fine. Just come up with a better reason why he's named mcchuckleshut if he asks.
    via u/flashfizz
  • 08
    mjcanfly 19 hr. ago thesis supervisor. You're paying a ton of money for a service. I wouldn't take disrespect from anyone much less someone who you are essentially contributing to his paycheck. Grow a spine. Have an adult conversation. Set boundaries.
    via u/mjcanfly
  • 09
    2kgOfSlaw OP 19 hr. ago edited 11 hr. ago I gathered most of his emails with the intent of complaining to the university when I leave. Anyways, if we cannot complete by March and he will not accept research which disproves all of his ideas, I'm going back to work. I'm on a full ride scholarship. He only wasted my time.
    via u/2kgOfSlaw
  • 10
    neurophilos 15 hr. ago Having done a PhD at a place famous for hostile profs, this is all quite mild and totally believable. It's all...
    via u/neurophilos
  • 11
    chaneg 15 hr. ago I have had my own bad supervisor experience myself. However, if my PhD thesis is so close to being completed that I could defend in March, I wouldn't simply "Go back to work" if it doesn't work out.
    via u/chaneg
  • 12
    neurophilos 15 hr. ago Valid! And I've known people who left programs despite being very close to defending because it was sucking the life from them, which I trust was the right decision for them. 7 Reply Share 2kgOfSlaw OP 14 hr. ago It's becoming a stressor. McChuckles and I are nearing my breaking point.
    via u/neurophilos
  • 13
    holdingofplace 18 hr. ago Professors care that students pay their salary in the same way cops care citizens pay their salary - they don't lol unless I'm misunderstanding what a thesis supervisor is Reply Share 29 MixtureOdd5403. 13 hr. ago Professors generally care about their students, but not because they pay their salary directly or indirectly. It is much more satisfying to see your students succeed.
    via u/holdingofplace
  • 14
    Azazel CumsBuckets 14 hr. ago Sounds like how a friend of mine in the Firefighter world labeled his meetings and contacts. His chief had a crying baby for his ringtone, with the contact name set as "Dr. Man Baby" and he received a call from him, with the volume on, phone screen face up, in a meeting with the mayor (who was also a bit of an , and appointed said chief) Neither the mayor or the chief appreciated that, but they couldn't do anything about it but be butthurt
    via u/AzazelCumsBucket
  • 15
    BangBangMeatMachine 12 hr. ago I don't know how this works, are you not able to get a different thesis adviser from the department head? Reply Share 3 2kgOfSlaw OP · 12 hr. ago Sadly, nope. ...
    via u/BangBangMeatMachine
  • 16
    vir-morosus 9 hr. ago I got written up one time because I kept checking my phone during a meeting... because my wife was waiting on test results to determine if she had cancer and was texting me while she was freaking out with stress. wrote me up directly after the meeting, and I unloaded on him for being a . So then he wrote me up for being insubordinate. At that point, I knew things were not going to be pretty if I stayed there much longer.
    via u/vir-morosus
  • 17
    freakshowhost 8 hr. ago Kind of weird he was looking at your phone. Are you sure he saw it? If so you need to confront him and apologize. Let him know that you are having a hard time and you want to see if you can fix it. Tell him the truth that you think he doesn't like you or appreciate your work and how can you improve. These are life lessons. This will be the first of many real time circus clowns you will have to deal with. Don't burn the bridge you might need a rec or something.
    via u/freakshowhost
  • 18
    MixtureOdd5403. 13 hr. ago Talk to someone senior, the chairman of the department, director of graduate studies if you are a graduate student and find out how you can make a formal complaint.
    via u/MixtureOdd5403

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