Mentor Match

Get Involved

This mentorship program is designed to connect students with professionals in optics and photonics as a way to assist students with overcoming challenges they face in their careers. Participants are able to choose from a variety of different discussion topics including:

Technical Support
- Guidance pertaining to my career path and goals as a scientist
- Support with identifying and applying for relevant research grants
- Support with identifying and applying to conferences relevant to my research
- Support with identifying graduate school programs relevant to my research

Professional Development Support
- Guidance on communicating my research effectively
- Information on various career paths in optics (academia, industry, nonprofit, government, etc.)
- Support with building and leveraging a network of individuals to achieve my goals
- Assistance with creating an effective resume or CV
- Support with understanding the dynamics of a workplace and how to achieve success after university

Navigating Personal Challenges
- Guidance on maintaining work/life balance and overcoming stress
- Support with navigating challenges associated with diversity and inclusion
- Advice on collaborating effectively with people from around the world
- Support with navigating a career through parenthood

Eligibility

For mentees:

Be an active member of an Optica student chapter
Be a student at the undergraduate, graduate, or Ph.D. level
Have a current Optica student membership

For mentors:

Have a degree and background in physics
Have a current Optica membership
Be willing to provide insight on the above topics for mentees

Resources

For mentees and mentors:

For mentees:

For mentors:

Join the program

As a mentor

Contact us at studentchapters@optica.org and we'll be happy to add you to the mentor pool. We'll send you a link to complete your profile and keep you updated on the mentee we will pair you with. These are six month terms and the frequency by which you contact your mentee will be determined as part of the goal setting with that mentee. A mentor can choose to support up to five mentees at one time, but our recommendation is to focus on one-two to ensure effective partnerships.

As a mentee

Any Optica student member is eligible to participate by joining here. Once you have joined, you can use the Self Match feature to find a mentor who matches what you are looking for.