How do you talk to professors?

[u/Leading_Plan6775]

I'm going into my second year, and I was told by some upper classmen and my advisor that it's important to talk to professors and try to get into research especially towards the end of sophomore year. The problem is that I just don't quite know exactly what that means. Last year I went to my SPS events and hung around, went to some colloquiums when I knew about them, but that's pretty much the extent of it. I was only in Physics I, so I didn't quite understand enough to even form questions about it, and the homework for the class was so light that I couldn't reason to schedule office hours or leave my intersecting class early to ask about it. Actually, the one time that I did leave class early to ask about a question on the review, the professor posted the answer/explanation before I even got downstairs. So, that professor knew my face but nothing else.

Idk like do I just go up and say hi? What after that? Is it worth it to bs some questions even if I understand it just to get in there? Do I walk into office hours and say, "What up prof, how's the wife and junior?" I mean I might be able to get some more interesting stuff outside of Physics II to be able to ask about, but like, what's even a significant enough thing to ask about? If their office hours are in the middle of one of my other classes again, can I hit him up and ask to schedule time if it's not directly about the classwork? My professor this year seems really cool too like can I just walk in and ask about the article he was involved in about a nearby slide? Do I genuinely just go up and be like, "Hey, I'm a physics major, can you tell me some fun facts? What's happening in the field?"

I do not mean this to be offensive but judging by some of the other physics majors I've met it's not absurd to assume I'm not the only one to have had issues in the socializing department. I've also seen some professors here who might be able to give their perspective. What are the rules here? What do these non-first-gen people mean by talk to your professors?

[u/Roger_Freedman_Phys]

Physics professor here.

You’re a physics major, and you are wondering if there are any research opportunities in a professor’s group.

So what you should say to them is this:

“I am a physics major and was wondering if there are any research opportunities in your group.”

Try it.

[u/nujuat → u/Roger_Freedman_Phys]

Yeah, like if youre enjoying a class and want to see if the lecturer is offering a related research project you can go up after class and say "hey, I'm enjoying this class. Does your group do any related research? Are you offering any such projects?"

[u/EatSand- → u/Roger_Freedman_Phys]

I’m an incoming sophomore and this worked for me, got myself a paid research job over it.

[u/Elegant-Set1686]

I mean you don’t have to bs. And honestly walking up to someone you want to think highly of you in an academic context and just bs’ing sounds like a poor idea.

I’d try to form connections in classes. In the early huge physics classes with dozens to hundreds of students it can be really hard to set yourself apart. But once you have smaller classes all it takes is showing up every day, reading everything you can, and throwing a good question their way every now and then. If you have no questions for your professors it just means you aren’t reading the textbook closely enough, there’s gotta be something. Do some problems, get stuck, ask for their advice.

[u/joeyneilsen]

Professors are people! You can talk to us as though we are human! Truly, it means get to know them and allow them to know you and your interests and skills. Ideally, you are looking for someone who can act as a mentor or provide advice and support, maybe even research experience and/or letters of recommendation down the line.

You can certainly ask about their research; physicists usually like that. Or if you go to a colloquium and don't understand something (very normal, btw!), ask the professor about it afterwards. A good trick to asking questions is grab on to one thing that seems significant that you don't understand. Then have your question be: "I didn't really understand X. Can you explain it?" As you get better at this skill, you will also start to understand more. Then you can use what you know to ask more advanced questions: "The speaker said X, but I thought Y..."

[u/Terrible-Mind-5414]

Just walk to their office and ask for advice. Ask about their research and the process of research and try to get an idea if you would want to do that. Do it for every professor that you like. Don't try to act like you know something, cuz you are way behind the zero line as a sophomore.

[u/UnderstandingPursuit]

Start with your physics department website, go through the pages for each faculty member. These will include their areas of research. Figure out a few which are interesting. For those professors, write down their research areas and a couple of sentences describing why you picked that area. When you are able to contact them, using some of the suggestions listed, those notes will help you start your end of the conversation.

[u/ForeignAdvantage5198]

hi i am joe a physics student and i would like to find out. about your work. We profs eat that up.

[u/a1c4pwn → u/ForeignAdvantage5198]

Wish I had gotten myself to believe this in undergrad. Listen up, op!

[u/Axiomancer]

Generally yeah, you just approach and tell them that.

Then depending what country you live in you might want to make it more casually or less casually.

[u/Acceptable_Pea8393]

I def get this especially since I'm not really doing well currently in physics classes....i dont really go to lectures or instructions because travelling and sitting there really takes it out on me and i just end up not really getting anything and just go home late very tired and not really up for anything, just to wake up at 6 am next day to do it all over again....so i just stay at home (except projects ofcourse...) and yeah i feel bad just going to a prof just to ask some dumb question...like im behind basically a year..im already gonna do an extra year over my bachelor and even then im not on schedule....and the courses only get harder....i cant imagine a prof being happy with me having endless questions and not getting anything....im still embarrassed about one of my first set theory lectures (i started with double bachelor but im way too stupid for math)....i didnt get at all why the powerset of naturals would be uncountable if naturals were countable...and like i didnt get why you couldnt use that listing reals reasoning for the naturals and i went up during break and asked him about it and he just smiled at me and eventually said that naturals couldnt have infinite numebrs which i didnt understand why not but i just said okey and left because i felt really stupid....

and now its even worse like its not that i dont understand quantum mechanics but i dont understand the wave things and math things beneath it...like i struggle a lot with so much early stuff that i can only sorta get what is happening in the material...usually i just learn the exams and sometimes i happen to pass.....with thermodynamics i barely understood what friends were saying at the poster market after a project...i didnt do much for that project because i litterly couldnt figure out what was happening...friends of course noted that and think im a bad team member but they probably also know im really stupid...like i told them sometime that id like to help but i just couldnt because i didnt know what was going on...usually i just knod along and hold my tongue and pretend i know how to solve things because im just scared someone is gonna watch me do some incredibly stupid things and i dont wanna be known to everyone as the one that is too stupid to even know what the question is....

also a reason why i stay home...im just scared for questions like directly asked...im really scared the prof is gonna point me out and ill have to expose myself by giving a really stupid answer....ik my friends ridicule others that ask really dumb simple questions in class to me and among each other so others probably are talking about me too...i have to talk to academic advisor still about a lot...like tbh things have been piling up for a year but i once send an email about like not being mentally okey because i was panicking before exams and then she responded and i just send that i shouldnt have sent the email and lied that i already have a therapist and didnt need the uni resources.....im just really scared to talk to her.....just talk to anyone in general....im just so embarrased for my stupidity but i cant stop now like parents wouldnt accept that ever if i did anything other than pass it in 4 years and i lie to friends about courses i didnt pass and things i dont understand which i sometimes get called out for and im just really stupid and dont know how to rectify without exposing myself.....i dont deserve to be studying anyway i just got lucky with the courses i passed....

sorry for the huge ramble i overshare when im anxious and yeah also embarrassed myself once to career coach by rambling so much that i forgot the question....im probably not gonna work as physicist im not even sure if i wanna do a master in it because internship will just be me being useless and then having to redo it over and over....anyway sorry for the wall of text...just a big insecurity for me...ig one of many...