For Advisee

  • Characteristics to look for in a good advisor, mentor, boss, or committee member

    • It is unreasonable to expect one person to have all of the qualities you desire. You should choose thesis committee members who are strong in the areas where your advisor is weak.

    • Willing to meet with you regularly (about 1 hour every week or every other week)
    • You can trust him/her to
      • Give you credit for the work you do
      • Defend your work when you are not around
      • Speak well of you and your capabilities
      • Tell you when your work is or is not good enough
      • Help you graduate in a reasonable time frame
      • Look out for you professionally and personally
    • Is interested in your topic
    • Has good personal and communication skills
      • You can talk freely and easily about research ideas
      • Tells you when you are doing something stupid
      • Patient
      • Never feels threatened by your capabilities
      • Helps motivate you and keep you unstuck
    • Has good technical skills
      • Can provide constructive criticism of papers you write or talks you give
      • Knows if what you are doing is good enough for a good thesis
      • Can help you figure out what you are not doing well
      • Can help you improve your skills
      • Can suggest related articles to read or people to talk to
      • Can tell you or help you discover if what you are doing has already been done
      • Can help you set and obtain reasonable goals
    • Will be around until you finish
    • Is well respected in his/her field
    • Has good connections for the type of job you would want when you graduate
    • Willing and able to provide financial and computing support

    One basic question in choosing an adviser is whether to pick a junior (non-tenured) or a senior (tenured) professor. Non-tenured professors tend to travel less and are generally more available. It is difficult to get help from an adviser who is never in town. Non-tenured faculty have fewer advisees that you have to compete with to get time with the professor. They are more likely to be personally involved with your research -- writing code, spending time in the lab at midnight, etc. Non-tenured faculty must be energetic and hard working if they want to be awarded tenure, and this work habit can rub off on their students. However, tenured faculty have several advantages as well. They are usually the ones with most of the money and resources to support you. They do not have to compete with their students for publications and recognition. The advisee does not run the risk of having his or her adviser not getting tenure and leaving the university. Tenured faculty are more experienced with "how the game works" and thus may be better sources of guidance, personal contacts, jobs after graduation, etc.
     

  • Getting the most out of the relationship with your research advisor or boss

    • Meet regularly - you should insist on meeting once a week or at least every other week because it gives you motivation to make regular progress and it keeps your advisor aware of your work.
    • Prepare for your meetings - come to each meeting with:
      • List of topics to discuss
      • Plan for what you hope to get out of the meeting
      • Summary of you have done since your last meeting
      • List of any upcoming deadlines
      • Notes from your previous meeting
    • Email him/her a brief summary of EVERY meeting - this helps avoid misunderstandings and provides a great record of your research progress. Include (where applicable):
      • Time and plan for next meeting
      • New summary of what you think you are doing
      • To do list for yourself
      • To do list for your advisor
      • List of related work to read
      • List of major topics discussed
      • List of what you agreed on
      • List of advice that you may not follow
    • Show your advisor the results of your work as soon as possible - this will help your advisor understand your research and identify potential points of conflict early in the process.
      • Summaries of related work
      • Anything you write about your research
      • Experimental results

      One thing I do (which few others do) is write short (1 screenfull) status reports, which I religiously e-mailed to my professors and team members on a weekly basis. These serve as an efficient way of keeping everyone up to date on what I'm doing. They are also a good way for me to record my progress. If I need to remember what I got done during a six month period, I have plenty of old status reports that I can read. You'd be amazed how appreciative professors and managers are of this simple practice. I also throw in a different humorous quote at the end of each week's report to reward people for reading it.
       

    • Communicate clearly - if you disagree with your advisor, state your objections or concerns clearly and calmly. If you feel something about your relationship is not working well, discuss it with him or her. Whenever possible, suggest steps they could take to address your concerns.
    • Take the initiative - you do not need to clear every activity with your advisor. He/she has a lot of work to do too. You must be responsible for your own research ideas and progress.