Advising ain’t always easy

I’ve had a handful of graduate students in the dozen-ish years the lab has existed. I’ve felt better about how I’ve advised some, and not as great about how I’ve advised others. Even within individual students, I feel I’ve done well at times, and poorly at times.

This morning, I came across an article that I hadn’t seen before. It was published in Nature in 2011, and shifts at least some of the responsibility to the student. While this is a huge relief, I still think the majority of the responsibility falls on our shoulders as mentors, but it’s nice to have this document to give to students. Not because I think the burden should be on them, but because I think everything discussed here can help me do my job better.

Nature student-mentor article

Click here for the online pdf at nature’s website.

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