Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Hello,

When you contact potential mentors, is it best to ask a question about their research to start a conversation and gradually work your way into asking them if they can be a mentor, or you directly ask them in one email? I was originally going to give a brief summary of myself, talk about my interest in their research, and ask if they can be a mentor, but some websites say that it's best to start a conversation and let them know how interested you are in their research, which is logical. But starting an email conversation seems really tedious but I'm not sure if it'll raise my chances of getting accepted.

Thanks,

Justin Bryant

Hi justinbryant,

Thanks for your question. You can ALWAYS post your questions here about your project or about your interests. Please use this resource, since we are all here to help you succeed

Also, do what you are most comfortable with. If you are emailing professors and researchers, keep in mind that they are very busy, that they keep full schedules, that your email may land in their spam folder, etc. What I have done in the past is on the initial email:
1. Introduce myself and interests briefly
2. compliments always help: i.e. I read your research paper published last year in...
3. Ask questions: I would be brief (3-5 questions at most). An email they can respond to in 10-15 minutes is ideal
4. Thank them for their time--it's valuable!

Also, when I needed mentoring/ advice on a new career, I went to forums on LinkedIn. These are professionals. I found a few people willing to answer my questions, and 1 woman offered to be a mentor for me. I wouldn't count on finding a mentor, but definitely count on being able to ask intelligent, relevant questions to their line of work.
Here are some resources, too:
This is an excellent article: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... tors.shtml
http://www.thoughtleadersllc.com/2013/0 ... _216343788

Hope that helps! What are your specific questions, I'd love to help if I can or refer you to someone.