Ask HN: Should I quit graduate school to avoid a bad advisor?

Switch advisers or quit. Everyone I know who's ever done different in this situation has regretted it. 3 years of the prime of your life is worth a whole lot more than a middling recommendation letter.

Academic references are probably of greatest import in an academic setting. Industrial hires generally care about what you can do for them, not what you've done in the past.

In addition to HN as an advice/support group, consider looking around within your department and peer group. Chatting with other professors may yield useful insights (and provide a back-channel communique to your advisor). It's fine to continue working (and doing good work) for your advisor while you aggressively network for other options.

As I tell every student I work with in Physics; do it for love. If you don't love it, other things are probably more worth your time.

I've been through this. Actually I was well-supported by my department and switched groups even later than that -- too late if you ask anyone. When you're motivated and on the right project, you can do a PhD in only a couple of years. Grad school can be extremely inefficient, and we all know that.

The larger question is whether you need a PhD to do what you want in the world. But don't get too down on academia because of one bad advisor. (There are many better reasons!)

Edit: To your political question, my old boss and I don't talk by design. I've found much better supporters since then, and some bridges should be burned. Your boss may seem like your whole world right now, but that's mostly Stockholm syndrome talking. There are many supportive people -- you just have to ask around.

> But it can be done, and if you succeed it becomes a major, major accomplishment on your CV.

I agree with your advice except for this line. To be clear, a Ph.D does count as a "major, major accomplishment on your CV" (at least to the right audience). But you won't get any extra credit for putting up with a bad adviser.

I am tempted to simply advise quitting, but switching to another adviser (or even sticking it out) could also make sense. It depends on how exactly your adviser is bad, and whether you could honestly expect another Ph.D. adviser to be significantly better. Actual abuse is one thing, but benign neglect and a "sink or swim" attitude are pretty typical attitudes. If the problem is that your adviser is just focused on raising funds and doesn't have much time or inclination to help you on your research, then you can't expect any better if you roll the dice another time.

Also - what field are you in? What are your career goals? Most people with Ph.Ds don't end up in jobs that require them. If you think you'll be dropping out of academia in three years anyways (and there's no shame in that), then there really is little reason to stick it out for three more years of suffering, regardless of the whys.

I would switch advisors or leave. Also ask yourself if you really need a PHD. This is all in retrospect since I was in your situation and I tried to make it work and ended up leaving eventually anyway.

Decide what is right for you, be authentic, regardless of your advisor.