Written by Arturo Meza
Finding a faculty advisor that fits with your career and life goals can be really challenging since is a big decision.
Is important to know that you will spend the next four to six years with the faculty advisor you choose, a good advisor will provide you with a stable funding, will guide to achieve your career goals and will bring out your best. In this post I provide some tips you may consider before making your decision on who you want to be advised from. Keep in mind that a faculty advisor is a faculty member who provides support and guidance through your degree.
First thing to think about is the program website. A good thing to do is to check the researcher group website, they will usually have a brief description of their research interests, facilities and equipment. Usually you would also find other important highlights of their work such as their publications and grants. I personally found this very helpful since I was able to categorize the faculty members in relevance by my personal interests so that, at the end my research I already had a list of each potential laboratory I wanted to work in by school and department. Another tip on this is that you could reach out at least one or two current students of those potential advisors you looked in and freely ask questions about the work environment, methods, expectations and other important information that can guide you into choosing the right one. Don’t be afraid of asking the wrong questions, usually they will reply very friendly since they were on your spot at some point.
The next aspect to consider is funding. By this point you may have contacted the researcher you want to work with. Not all the potential advisors you are going to be interested in will count with the right funding for a new student. For this you should consider looking in advance for fellowships and scholarships that you are eligible and discuss that with them from the very beginning because this will not only speak good about you but also when you hear back from them this point will be clear already and this will be very much appreciated by both sides. This is primordial for your career since your school tuition and fees must be covered somehow.
Additionally, you should consider discussing on an early stage, what are your goals after obtaining your degree. That is because if your goals match with their research topics and interests it could help your potential advisor to accept you in their research group. For example, if you are pursuing an academic career your goals would fit on publications and presentations or maybe you are looking to go to the industry and your research goals perfectly fit with what the potential advisor works with.
One other tip highly recommended is doing your best in communicating effectively with your future advisor, keep in touch with them since researchers are always very busy, so is always good to feel comfortable contacting them occasionally, in the meantime they decide to accept you or not. This will also be a plus if admitted because will enhance the communication ways, keep in mind that you should be seeking for someone who demonstrates that cares about their student life and career goals and success.
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When you are making contact, some information must be shared from both sides. At this point you may have talked about your career goals but now maybe you want to hear about some other details and it would be time to start making some questions related to their own work. Some specific topics that could be helpful to know and that you could ask about are mentioned below:
Expectations
You should be able to discuss the graduation goals and timelines for your degree. This opportunity will be given occasionally while you advance in your career and in the program requirements since there are already set timelines and exams that you may be required to pass or present. Publications and journals of interest could be something important to know about since some researchers choose only very specific journals where they want their publications. When would you begin to do lab work and how often you will be asked to submit a report is something also important to discuss and keep in mind.
One-to-one or group meeting attendance
If you happen to be in a lab or in a group that are required to meet in person, you should consider asking how the dynamic of the meetings is and probably attend one or two of those meetings if allowed. This can help to evaluate the work dynamic and environment. You can also use that chance to meet and talk with current students.
Every student has a different experience at graduate school, is really important to be informed about all the resources that your school provides, if you ever have any concern that you may not feel comfortable to discuss with your advisor, there are always people that will help you out by providing with the necessary information or directing you to the right department that can take care of the situation.
These tips may help in choosing the best fit of advisor for you. After all you must never forget why you choose to go graduate and always pursue what motivated you at that time, keep in mind that the person that you are going to work with went through all this and have been exactly where you are at right now, also remember to always keep up and do your best because you are already there.
This is all what I could share from my personal experience when choosing a faculty advisor, but I am sharing two other resources where you could find other people tips and suggestions for this very important first step in your career.
References:
https://www.apa.org/monitor/2017/01/right-advisor