Ask HN: How do I pursue an academic relationship with a professor?

[d-crane]

Brief background: I'm a 29-year-old junior in an undergrad CS program. I've been going to school one class per quarter for a few years while working full-time and supporting my wife during her second degree, but now that she graduated I've recently quit my job and this is my first full-time academic quarter.

I've recently discovered that the professor teaching my algorithms course is somewhat well-known in the cryptology field, which is exciting for me as an interest in and passion for crypto is what got me to go back to school and study CS. I would really like to pursue an academic relationship with this professor, but I"m not sure what the best way to do that would be, or even necessarily what that would like. I'm essentially thinking of someone from whom I could ask for a letter of reference, and ask for course/topic of study recommendations, that kind of thing; perhaps even as an adviser for the independent-study type credits that are offered. I feel like I have better-than-average interpersonal skills and perspective compared to the just-out-of-high-school students who make up most of my classmates, but having worked a full-time job for the last ten years and having only recently gotten into computer science, I don't really have side-projects of my own I can talk to him about, which seems like a disadvantage. I'm performing well in his class, though I'm not at the very top. Can anyone give some advice on how I might best make a good impression on him (aside from just performing well and being interested) and open a dialog with him?

[aakriti1215]

I think that its okay that you don't have side projects. I just graduated with my undergrad and was quite close to my professors. I'd say, if you can still go to office hours, go to them prepared and with good questions. Let them know that you did your research and noticed that they were into cryptology, and tell them that that's something you'd be interested in learning more about - ask them if they have books or papers that they would recommend. After a couple of office hours, or when you're comfortable, ask them if they would be willing to grab coffee. This will create more of a personal professional relationship rather than one just related to class. If you do not feel comfortable, continue to talk to them about the papers you've read and so on. Ask them how you can learn more, or if they'd be willing to help you code some stuff. Show them that you're truly interested.

I don't think you have to be at the top of your class to have a good relationship with your professors (I definitely wasn't!)

[d-crane → aakriti1215]

Thanks, this is definitely helpful. I've got three or so weeks left in the quarter, so I can certainly go by during office hours between now and then. Very much appreciated.

[aakriti1215 → d-crane]

Yeah, glad to help! Feel free to reach out if you have any questions!

[drallison]

There are formal and informal relationships you can have with your professor; you seem to feel the need for an informal mentoring relationship. That means that you need to get to know the professor and vice versa.

Every professor holds office hours (it's an obligation that comes with teaching). Make an appointment, be on time, meet with the professor, and talk with her/him about things that interest and concern you. It helps if you are up-to-date on events in your chosen field and have been doing some research on your own--but that's not mandatory. You can also ask for help.

Interaction with bright, interested, and thoughtful students is a primary reason your professor is teaching a class. The professor is not going to be worried about whether you have a side-project or what sort of grades you have gotten on your homework assignments. She/he will be interested in whether you have been thinking about the field and whether you have interesting ideas.

Office hours are often the most exciting time of a professor's day (35+ years of experience).

[d-crane → drallison]

Thanks for the reassurance that side projects and being the top of the class aren't particularly important. I definitely get a little worried when there I've got the 20-year-old classmates that have spent the last six months building some crazy thing, or have two internships and are launching a startup or whatever, so it's a relief to hear that being interested in the field and having ideas about it is enough.

[clementangerine]

Go to his office hours, definitely. A common trap I've seen a lot of students fall into is that they think they can't approach a professor until they are impressive enough (have enough personal side projects, have read enough of their papers, have perfect grades in their class, etc), or they try too hard to appear more knowledgeable than they are. It's totally fine to just go and say "I'm interested in this, do you have any advice on what I should do to learn more?". You'll have a better time impressing him by following up on that advice successfully than you will trying to make a side project on your own.

[d-crane → clementangerine]

Thanks! I'm definitely guilty of falling into that trap so far. I haven't wanted to show up and feel like I don't have anything interesting to say or like I can't make any kind of good impression, but your advice to just ask what I should do to go forward in the area I'm interested in totally makes sense.

[stevenwu]

Other than the mentioned advice of going to office hours with a purpose, I would say a golden way to get your professor's attention is to read their papers (select the top k most cited/interesting/whatever heuristic works for you). After doing that, you will undoubtably have focused questions to ask that can lead into discussion that will implicitly signal to the professor your interest/curiosity/passion (don't bog yourself down in the low level details). Reading papers is good practice anyway if (a) stuff like independent study intrigues you and (b) you want to stay current within your field of interest.

[d-crane → stevenwu]

Thank you, that seems like great advice. A few of his better known papers are definitely over my head currently, although I'm familiar with the basic concepts at least; but luckily he has some other work that is at least somewhat accessible for where I'm at. I'll keep working through his stuff and come armed with some questions, and as you point out, I can definitely use the practice in being able to read papers well and stay abreast of things.