>But now I'm wondering. I can't hook up with an advisor/topic. I tell you what I think about this. The important thing is not the topic, but the advisor. You have to be comfortable with the advisor, and respect the advisor. Comfortable, because you expect to spend a lot of time with the advisor, and you have to be able to listen to the person, and discuss matters without getting emotional. Respect, because a student has to _listen_ to the advisor. It is one thing to disagree with the advisor, but the student should usually start by assuming the advisor is correct. Advisors have to do "mean" things to students, and the student must have enough respect to believe that whatever is said or done is, in the long run, for the student's benefit. You can't accept and learn from criticism unless you really respect the person giving the criticism. Of course, you can't respect anyone unless you A) respect yourself, and B) know that you still have things to learn. After the advisor ... then you start looking at the topic. The fire develops slowly. But don't get it backwards. Many, many students around here have the mistaken impression that the usual ordering is: Area --> Topic --> Advisor That's very rare. It is a recipe for disaster, because it is too easy to wind up with a bad relationship with your advisor. If you have your 1st choice as advisor and 2nd choice as topic, then you can easily learn to love the topic and succeed with research. If you have your 1st choice as topic and 2nd choice as advisor, then most people will not learn enough about the topic to really succeed. I've seen it. Many times. How to choose an advisor? Remember that a young prof is very different from an old prof. Old profs have more experience, wisdom, and money. Young profs have more time, energy, and need. Young profs are more likely to do more hand holding, more likely to make mistakes, and more likely to push publishing. Old profs are more likely to expect independence and let the student set the route. Young profs tend to be more technical, expect more technical research, and set higher standards. And different people have different management styles. Some people motivate with fear, some with caresses, some with carrots, and some by example. What works for you? What motivates you? I chose my advisor because I took his class and understood everything he said. Even when half the class was confused, I understood his *first* explanations, and didn't need the auxiliary explanations. I knew I could learn a lot from him. He was very senior and had a fair amount of money. We had some problems, because early on I needed more direction than he could (or would?) give. I got over that by developing close relationships with some of the young profs. Remember an advisor is a life-long relationship. Your topic is only for a few years, and most people change areas several times in a career. I still talk with my advisor more than once a month. He still sees his advisor several times a year. Jeff Offutt