1/28/2010

3 True Facts About Studying Ph.D

3 True Facts About Studying PhD

By HSB On January 23, 2010; Raghav posted some very valuable comments to the article M.S. or PhD which was posted yesterday. We definitely need more readers like Raghav to come forward to post comments about their education and experience about US education.

Facts About PhD

Well, the person who posted this question is having different ambitions in mind other than pursuing Phd from a reputed institution in United States. I wonder if he/she should care about PR/Green card when the immediate goal is to get on hold with the research activities and the requirements to take up Phd in various institutions. Well I recently completed my Masters from a fairly reputed university in California, and I did not pursue Phd even though I got an offer from one of the Professors just because I was not sure whether I would be able to sustain the drive and passion for the topic my advisor suggested for another 3-4 years.

PhD is not Easy as it sounds

I do not want to sound rude or offend or discourage you from applying for Phd, but I am just furnishing the facts and the reality. Take my word it is not going to be easy getting a Phd. Even if you get an admit for Phd the following should be faced. First thing would be to clear the screening exam (most universities conduct this as a semi-formal interview with a panel of 3-5 professors) and believe me the questions can range from any of the topics of your concentration. You got to really prepare hard and time your examination such that you can appear with abundant confidence since most universities offer only two chances for you to clear. You have to balance this along with your regular curriculum to earn credits and maintain a healthy GPA. Second if you have not found an advisor by then, you got to tighten up things and come up with a topic and an advisor. Third you have to appear for the qualifiers to get financially secure (since till then some professors would pay off your tuition by means of TAs which are hard to come by these days for Phd students too due to recession effects. Unless industry is booming with adequate funds and institution has fantastic tie-ups with affluent organizations, professors are going to find money hard to come by ) Your nascent thoughts on discontinuing Phd with a Masters reflects your resolve of not being clear or motivated to do Phd. I would suggest you to take that crucial step after considering the questions posted by HSB in their comment. Good luck with your admission and career

What is Research?
Above 3 facts are exactly true. PhD is not easy for someone who just wants to study some Graduate degree. So, what does it take to do PhD? 1. 2. 3. 4. Toughness ( even if you enjoy the work, research is tough) Hardwork ( Solving a problem which was not solved by anyone in the world before) Dedication and Commitment. Focus for entire duration of PhD.

Many students after reading this article who were on the edge of applying for PhD just for funding will change their idea. In someway that is good, because you will not suffer for 2 years when you face the above facts in real life. If you dont have an research experience and get admit for direct PhD, it will take atleast 2 years to understand the meaning of research. Over To you So, after reading above facts, are you really interested to apply for PhD just for the sake of funding or easier to get Green Card? Related posts: 1. 2. 3. 4. Just Answer This M.S. or Ph.D? Q&A: I Need 5 Universities That Give Funding for PhD in US Direct PhD GRE 1350; Electronic and Instrumentation Universities for PhD in Computer Science with GRE 1240

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1/28/2010

3 True Facts About Studying Ph.D

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Comments 5 Responses to 3 True Facts About Studying PhD 1. SS says: January 24, 2010 at 11:11 AM Well: I agree partially with R but here we have some trade- offs. ..as he mentioned you really need lot of patience, hardwork and of course your major advisor also matterseventually when you get the degree and land in a good job..thats complete diff story ..you earn a lot of respect, growth and good salary especially if you are in a industry..There are several things to considerjust getting a pH.D is not sufficient. pH.D with good publications, the type of work, univ mattersbarely getting out of pH.D will end up as a post-doc for several years, which you may think at that point that pH.D doesnt give you a lucrative job..if you get in to a job with masters, you get some experience and to the level of pH.D in terms of salary if you convert your pH.D time (5-6 yrs)..again here with masters level you cannot go easily to higher positions or get promoted unlike pH.Ds.. So its your decision..think about your area of research, type of jobs, growth with masters and pH.D..and of course green card Reply HSB says: January 24, 2010 at 8:16 PM @SS Good Insight. Here is another link that talks about PhD and Research from Purdue http://www.cs.purdue.edu/homes/dec/essay.phd.html Reply 2. Harish C S says: January 24, 2010 at 9:58 AM I am going to finish my BE this year. From what you said about Phd, i have definitely ruled out that option. But it has always been my dream to become a researcher.. I have already applied for MS. Now for the option between thesis/non-thesis, which one will be the best for me. I dont think i have a thorough knowledge in my field at this time. So im very aware of the necessity for me to get some more education and get exposed to the depths of my field(thats the reason i chose to do MS in US). What i wanna ask is, are the MS thesis and non-thesis totally different? Can someone post a thorough study of these two options like the one posted by Raghav(for MS and Phd)? What i expect from my MS is, a lot of technical exposures in my field and proper guidance to help me realize my dream. And im a newbie if u have anyother suggestions(even rude ones) please shoot it out. Reply 3. Jivesh says: January 24, 2010 at 4:44 AM I wanted to get some information about the masters with thesis option. I am an engineering student and want to switch to physics. I have thought of the field in which I would like to puruse a Ph.D., but for that I need a very deep and solid foundation of physics. The masters thesis program is said to be centered on research and the master non thesis is mostly a taught course, with a project which has a lower contribution to the complete course. Is it advisable to me to do a masters thesis option, given my engineering background. I have done some self study of the physics course taught in B.Sc., but I am not sure if that is enough to get straightaway into a research course for my masters. Please advise me on what is suitable for me in masters. Reply 4. Varun Kumar says: January 23, 2010 at 11:24 PM This is a great piece of information. When we are not involved in something we just think about it very lightly. But when we do it we face the real facts of life. Reply Comments Do and Dont's Comments are cool, but don't be rude Dont's: ALL CAPS, EMAIL in Comment text, Repeated Comments Your Name or initials and Email Address are Required

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