at any stage is to take them on visits to other laboratories or to industrial work sites. Such visits can give students a broad and realistic view of possible careers.

Even though students cannot know which direction their careers will eventually take, they can help themselves by studying the possibilities. One of the mentor's goals should be to help the student stay aware of evolving career conditions and opportunities.

Encourage students to find out what recent graduates from their department or program have done. Help them recognize fields that are likely to be expanding when they graduate. Many "hot" fields involve cross-disciplinary research and therefore a combination of educational backgrounds and skills. Be aware, however, that a popular field might attract more students than there are jobs.

In preparing for a career, advise a balance between

Front Matter (R1-R12)

1 What is a Mentor? (1-16)

2 The Mentor as Faculty Adviser (17-42)

3 The Mentor as Career Adviser (43-52)

4 The Mentor as Skills Consultant (53-60)

5 The Mentor as Role Model (61-64)

6 Recommendation: Improving the Quality of Mentoring (65-68)

7 Resources (69-78)

Report Brief: Reshaping the Graduate Education of Scientists and Engineers (79-84)