A mentor is critical to your success as graduate student and professional. The professional role to which you aspire entails multiple facets. No one mentor or advisor can provide the breadth of guidance and advice that you will need. Instead, InsideHigherEd's Owen Sutkowski explains that you should cultivate a kitchen cabinet of mentors who each provide different kinds of assistance: the friend, the role model, the insider, the veteran, and the teacher.
Also see: Advisor Check: Real vs. Ideal
Comments
Question… Receieved my Masters 20 years ago..aced everything..best time of my life. I intended to go forward with my doctorate…but divorce, raising two boys, and trying eek out a living got in the way. Also, I am disabled. I can do anything everyone else can..(better at times, because brain surgeries as a teen literally left me mute, and the way my brain rewired itself, was perfect for my particular field ). I had done well in grad school, and was surprised to discover that employers were eager to hire my resume..just not me. So I do a lot of work “under the table”. When I DID land a “normal 6-3″ job, I was elated…5 months later I woke up in the hospital – I was told I had grand mal epilepsy, and was not allowed to drive for two years. I left the job..the seizures are controlled, my boys are grown and I’m BORED. I’m back to ghost writing, and doing research “under the table”…is it too late to get a PhD? I know that employment will remain elusive..I just want to prove I can do it. Also – I wonder if its possible to do my research and write up a draft thesis/publication BEFORE I apply. I don’t want to go through dog-eared courses just to take a GRE again. Any thoughts?
Yes, I know I’m odd. I’d prefer to ACTIVELY PARTICIPATE, and move the field forward, than be stuck in a classroom with a group of a bunch of 20-something academia nuts, all twittering and texting!