I was a PhD student for a short duration of 6 months. To summarize everything, I graduated with a Masters degree, dropped all my job offers and took up the challenge to do a PhD under a so called "very famous" professor. As you might have guessed, I dropped out of the program with very important take away points.
When I dropped my job offers to pursue my PhD, I was blinded by the research area and the prospects of doing well without paying attention to the professor behind this area. I let go of wonderful PhD advisors simply because I did not like their research area and chose a terrorizing advisor who claimed to be pursuing a "one of a kind" research area. My decision was terrible and I am writing this blog with a hope that prospective PhD candidates don't burn their fingers the way I did.
- If you are doing a PhD, please do it only for the love you have for research and your desperation to do it. There is no monetary benefit of doing a PhD and the professional benefits (besides joining research organizations) is small. That being said, a PhD gives you a sense of satisfaction and achievement. Even after dropping out, I still have the urge to go back and start all over again. Research is always exciting as you are working on new ideas and technologies that the world is yet to see. A good PhD can get you into top jobs and hell, if you are an Indian/Chinese wishing to immigrate to US, your greencard will be processed in less than a year under the EB1 category. With a Masters, your greencard will take anywhere between 4-7 years. The job profiles for people with a Masters is mostly disappointing and boring drudgery.
- Thumb Rule #1:If you have ANY second thoughts about doing a PhD, please don't do it. You should do a PhD only if you are desperate to do it. I have a similar rule for clothes. I buy only those shirts and pants that look good at the first glance. I see people regretting their decision of signing up for a PhD when they were not sure of doing it.
- Advisor: An advisor is much more important than the topic. Talk to his students. I repeat, talk to his students. Ask them if they are "happy" working under his guidance. Look at his history of students. Find out how long it takes for students to graduate in his group. Ask his students about his quirks which brings me to the second thumb rule.
- Thumb Rule #2: Every professor has his own quirks. Its really hard to find a professor without any flaws or weird behavior. If a professors students are "unhappy", stay away from him. Trust me, its not worth it. Academia is designed in such a way that a professor is like the "unquestionable emperor" and his students are "subjects with almost no rights". The advisor gets to decide everything and a bad advisor will ruin your happiness. Work with professors who are "mostly" nice and sometimes weird in a "nice" way.
- Thumb Rule #3: Start early. Target at starting your PhD and a research area in about a semesters from the time you start your grad school. This will give you a phenomenal head start and you will cruise to a finish in about 5 years. Don't wait for 2 years before looking at prospective research areas.
- Thumb Rule #4: Be proactive. Your professor is your advisor, not an instructor. Many make this mistake of waiting for the advisor to give them work to do. Be proactive enough to read papers and make decision and research finding on your own.
All said and done, in about 2 years time, you should have an idea of where you are heading. Enjoy your PhD and set clear goals from day one. At the end of the day, a PhD is an achievement and I have great respect and regards for people with one.
Again, let me repeat a few important points: Be extremely, completely, superbly, terrifically convinced that you want to do a PhD. Don't do it otherwise. Know your advisor before joining him. Joining a group without knowing the advisor is like giving a gun to your advisor and being at his mercy of staying alive.
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