How do you choose an advisor/Supervisor when you are doing a research/project?

You can choose your supervisor by keeping in mind the following factors ;

Talk to potential advisors

• • You will get to know what they’re working on?
  • Whether they’re looking for new students or not?

Talk to current and former students

• • Several different opinions about the advisor’s strengths and weaknesses
  • Each student will have a different read on the advisor depending on how well they work together, so it’s important that you speak to multiple students

Read their publications

• • What they’re working on and what stage their research has reached

What do you look for in an advisor?

Accessibility

• • How accessible are they likely to be?
  • Often you will need reassurance, guidance, signatures, direction, signatures, keys, and some more signatures
  • Compatibility
  • Do you have similar working styles?
  • What do they expect from their students?
    • Do they think the work week is 40 hours or 80 hours long?
  • What kind of expectations of progress do they have?
  • How do they react if those expectations aren’t met?

Durability

• • Will they be here for all of your stays?
  • Do they often go on leaves of absence?
  • History – Track Record
  • Have they graduated other students?
  • Are their current students successful?
  • Are they established in their area, or are they a “rising star”?
  • Have they lost a lot of students through advisor changes or departures?

Research

• • Are you interested in their research?
    • Normally advertise what research areas they are interested in
    • See their publications.
  • Do not be influenced by the performance of a professor in non-supervisory tasks
    • Teaches well or badly
    • Late or early in meetings
    • Dresses well or badly
    • Actually tells you very little about how good a fit they might be with you.
  • Help you select/refine your research topic
  • Guide you in writing the thesis proposal
  • Review your thesis proposal and recommend its approval
  • Meet regularly with you
  • Review your progress on the thesis and guide your research effort
  • Review your research papers/presentations/reports and give you appropriate feedback
  • Guide you in the preparation of your thesis arguments in document form
  • Evaluate the readiness of your thesis for defense
  • Sit on your examination committee

Note: An advisor will only give you the directions to follow – you have to walk by yourself

Pros and cons of selecting a Junior advisor

Pros	Cons
Easier to access Enthusiastic Cutting-edge research Hands-on mentoring Fewer responsibilities	Inexperienced Little track record Maybe risky research area Harder to develop independence Fewer networking contacts