Faculty Mentoring Program | Questions to Ask in Your Faculty Mentoring Session

A professor and student look at a rock on the groundHere are a few questions that you can ask your Faculty Mentor to get the session started.

  • How did you make the decision between teaching/research and professional practice?
     
  • What aspects of an academic career do you find most rewarding?
     
  • What advice do you have for a student who is seeking an academic career in geosciences?
     
  • What are the advantages to earning a master’s degree and/or a doctorate?
     
  • How did you become interested in your field?
     
  • What do you think are the most important factors in an undergraduate geosciences student’s academic success?
     
  • What schools did you attend and how did you choose them?
     
  • What other aspects of your discipline are available to you besides the one you chose?
     
  • What is the best way to approach an instructor about working in his/her lab?
     
  • What is your research interest and how did you choose it?
     
  • What new types of geosciences opportunities do you foresee?
     
  • What is the biggest obstacle that you have had to overcome professionally or academically?
     
  • How do you feel about double majoring?
     
  • How should I study to be best prepared for class?
     
  • How much study time is required for your class each week?
     
  • What academic issues did you have as an undergraduate and how did you resolve them?
     
  • What is the best way to approach you to ask questions?
     
  • What motivates you?
     
  • Which areas of your field do you find most interesting and why?
     
  • What are some good resources to find out more information about this field of geosciences?
     
  • How might your research impact everyday life?
     
  • How is research currently conducted in your lab?
     
  • What other opportunities are available to undergraduate geoscience students (internships, preceptorships, opportunities to learn more about a particular field)?
     
  • What career opportunities are available to individuals with a Geosciences BS degree?


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