R. Alan Smith from San Diego, California, is a strategic advisor. Or is he an adviser? There’s been a shift over the years from the -er spelling to the -or, but we’re pleased to announce that despite the style guides, advisor is the overwhelmingly preferred version, and is absolutely correct! This is part of a complete episode.
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It was nice to hear that Advisor was beating the carp out of Adviser.
As the foreign student advisor of my school, I have some advice for you:
a. use advisor with confidence when it is part of a title: The Foreign Policy Advisor.
b. use adviser when it is generic: he is an adviser to the president.
I did some research on this, but as it is now New Years Eve, I have forgotten where I found this.
Another case: I am a professor of English, but sometimes I am a professer of my ignorance. lol.