Getting a Ph.D. is certainly one of the highest qualifications that there is in academia. So the price of this immense achievement is laced with quite a lump sum of disappointment, frustration, failed experiments, and difficult relationships. But giving up on your academic endeavor is not what we suggest. Rather we encourage you to use some practical tips that will help you navigate some very difficult and unknown territory. Your Ph.D. will become all of your life really, making your friends and family wonder what is it that you do so late in the evening in a lab and sometimes even at night. However, Ph.D. promises to be the most character building experience of your career. To say that Ph.D. is hard is quite an understatement really. It promises to be a journey of intellectual refinement and personality development. However, things can go horribly wrong in a Ph.D., like when experiments fail or when there is a lack of effective communication between the supervisor and the Ph.D. student. The root of disagreement in a mentor-mentee relationship can be varied, but forging a fruitful relationship with the mentor is critical for the mentee to succeed as a Ph.D. In a delicate relationship such as this, it is extremely important to understand and communicate expectations. Such relationship is also prone to evolve in dynamics with time. No matter how smart or talented you may be you will need to collaborate with a thesis project advisor. If your supervisor is overbearing, difficult personality or absent then you will have to manage the relationship very gently. A mentor will supervise your work. Review the current progress in your project. They will demand accountability from you as in asking you to show what you have accomplished since the last meeting. If there are some difficulties that you have encountered along the way, you definitely would benefit from discussing that with your mentor during the meeting. Upon look at your data, your advisor will be able to offer feedback on this and make sure you’re heading in the right direction. This will mean a lot of encouragement for you. Another effective way to cope with difficult phases in your Ph.D. is through making substantial plans, wherein you and your advisor agree upon short and medium term goals. Ph.D. does not have a formal deadline but discussing the same with your supervisor can help keep you on track.