Obligatory: I am a PhD. I understand the pyramid-ish scheme that academia is. Your advisor is playing the 'grant-reward' game, and in most circumstances that e

Obligatory: I am a PhD. I understand the pyramid-ish scheme that academia is. Your advisor is playing the 'grant-reward' game, and in most circumstances that enables you to play your 'ideal' PhD game. However your ideals are not the same as your advisors, your PhD-mates, or your school. The sooner you recognize you are the standard-bearer for graduating, the sooner you realize it's time to take off the kid-gloves and start directly but professionally confronting your colleagues and advisors until you find what you are looking for. If you don't find it in six months after you change, write what you did and you can collect a masters. It really is that simple, they need you to graduate. PhD is a choose-your-own-adventure in real-life. No two PhDs are the same.