<p>Hello there,</p>
<p>I contacted a professor regarding doing research at his lab and he responded and told me to talk to him once school starts.. However, I looked at his reviews online on ratemyprofessor and they are pretty bad.. There were four of them and all of them were about how his class was really bad and that he didn't seem to know the subject himself..</p>
<p>Do you think its wise to pursue this opportunity? Whats the worst case scenario?</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
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Whats the worst case scenario?
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<p>Well he could be a complete ****** and work you to the bone while demanding the world from you. </p>
<p>However, research ability and teaching are not always closely related. I know a few professors who are just too brilliant in their research to be able to teach properly and others who devote their life to teaching, making them stellar educators. Talk to the graduate students working with him and go ahead and speak to him once the semester starts to get a good feel.</p>
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Well he could be a complete ****** and work you to the bone while demanding the world from you.
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<p>Thanks for the response. </p>
<p>Well I'd be volunteering so its not like a full-time job. Hence, cant I just quit/stop going if he's being unreasonable? Am I missing something here? Maybe paid research dynamics would be different but unpaid, it seems like there should be no strings attached. </p>
<p>The website's not been updated for a few years now so will see if the grad students posted online still work there or not.</p>
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Maybe paid research dynamics would be different but unpaid, it seems like there should be no strings attached.
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<p>True but keep in mind that you would like to ideally end things on a good note, just in case he holds weight in your department or you need a letter of rec. Most profs will be some what more relaxed with UG since you have high course loads and are doing this entirely for your own enjoyment--you don't need a thesis to graduate. </p>
<p>Talk to him and get a feel before you sign on. While you can quit in the middle of it, i'd try to stick it out until the project is done.</p>
<p>Cool.. Will talk to him. </p>
<p>Another question, is it wrong to email 4-5 professors who are in the same department ( and who probably talk to each other ) showing interest in their research? Or should I stick to 1-2? I do all the research pertinent to my major and could be beneficial to me.</p>