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I have read several posts regarding this question such as "Is transferring to another university an option for an unhappy PhD student?" and "Changing University in First year of Phd", but none of them apply to my situation.

Background: I am a first-year computer science Ph.D. student, I started my Ph.D. in the spring semester and so I am in the second semester. I am fully funded, but the problem is that the income I get from the university is very low and I did not know that I have to pay about 2000 each semester for insurance. My mind is always busy thinking about how can I provide this money. It's hard, as I have the potential to do really well but most of the time I am struggling with financial issues.

The second but minor issue is my advisor, she isn't an expert in her field, we just go forward with trial and error, and I am the kind of person who needs to read deeply to understand all aspects before trying. We have to have a strong reason to test an approach so before testing we should take a good amount of time, but she just likes to force me to test without in-depth understanding. It's disappointing for me. Most of the time the results are not good. I said this is a minor issue as I am self-learner and I will find a way to do the way I like.

I talked with my advisor regarding this, she said we have to survive in this time, and I don't have any other sources, she tried to make me happy by not giving me the TA of a subject that I don't like, but it does not work for me. I need to make my mind free and focus on the research.

With these explanations, how can I convince another university and professor to accept me?

aeismail
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marak
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    Given the possible conflict with your advisor, may I first suggest you to change your SE profile, name and picture, to avoid being recognized? – Massimo Ortolano Sep 23 '17 at 17:48
  • @MassimoOrtolano thanks yea I have to do it, but I have heard that saying conflictit with the professor has the negative context and should not do it, they may think I am not some one put up with the situations, or someone that complain all the time, but really I am not. I am very patient but found myself really broken and helpless, though even my professor likes the way I am thinking and most of the time I have something to offer in terms of idea – marak Sep 23 '17 at 17:57
  • I think the advisor part is less of a concern, assuming she is an experienced researcher with quality publications. For example, my students quickly become more of an expert in a topic than me after 6-12 months. Trial-n-error is fine but you can minimize going down a rabbit hole by first getting a better understanding of the method/problem yourself. Then provide evidences to your supervisor why it is good/bad. As for the financial issue, there is no easy fix. Best of luck. – Prof. Santa Claus Sep 23 '17 at 22:43
  • @Prof.SantaClaus many thanks for your advice, yea I agree with you that supervisor part is really not important and I mentioned that. I just said that to give you a big picture of the situation. – marak Sep 24 '17 at 06:54
  • @Prof.SantaClaus also somehow she isn't very experienced in publications, though she has been a professor for many years. but its not like a concern as far as im self-learner, do you think I can explain about the financial difficulties here to professors and convince them>? or its unreasonable – marak Sep 24 '17 at 07:16

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