Module 5: Next steps

Graduate school, Research jobs

We provide some information on applying to graduate schools for Ph.D. programs. The process is likely similar for research jobs, but the number of such opportunities is much fewer.

MS (outside India) vs. Ph.D.

A masters degree pursued outside India is generally a “professional” degree–i.e. it is designed to get you job-ready. It generally does not involve any research. M.Sc. degrees offered by a few Canadian universities, etc. are exceptions to this–details in the following section.

An MS degree has relatively lower barriers to entry - they expect you to do well in GRE, TOEFL, and have decent undergrad grades + work experience.

Importantly, you pay for your education in most cases. You pay anwhere between 20-40 lakh INR (25 to 50,000 USD) per year. The idea is you take loans, get through your courses, and get a job which will help you repay that loan.

Many use this to get into research engineer-like jobs, but that’s generally not the norm. Most use this as a way to get jobs outside India.

The $500k USD perspective

Ph.D. programs exclusively focus on research. In addition to Ph.D. programs, a few masters degrees (like some M.Sc. degrees offered by universities in Canada and Europe) offer opportunities to do research (examples: SFU, UBC, UoT).

There’s one important difference here when compared to MS programs—the university pays for your tuition and living expenses. Let that sink in. The university (more specifically, your research advisor who will likely hire you) is willing to pay out somewhere close to USD 50,000 for 5-6 years of your Ph.D. That amounts to 40L INR per year x 6 years = 2.4 crore INR.

Why would anyone want to pay so much to get you to come work with them? What gives? And that should help answer how prepared you are expected to be as an incoming Ph.D. student.

While jobs in the industry which pay as much as 40L INR per year have pretty well defined guidelines on how to prepare for them, what to expect, and how to apply, there is little information on how to “prepare” for and apply to research programs in universities. Likewise, a reality that you should accept, given the quantum of money some university/faculty is willing to bet on you: you need to possess a base set of skills, and should be able to demonstrate and communicate your proficieny in those skills to your potential advisor for them to justify betting/spending that money on you. Further, it is likely you will enjoy the Ph.D. process if you already have a broad direction you want to explore, and have some experience working in that direction.

This should also sound familiar to you by now: of doing your homework first!

Watch Prof. Shriram Krishnamurthy’s hour long talk where he provides more details on this $500K USD perspective.

MS (Research), Ph.D. in India vs. outside

There are pros and cons to both. Pros of pursuing a Ph.D./MS-research in India:

Relatively inexpensive.
Relatively well defined entrance requirements: doing well in standardized national exams like GATE, etc.
Proximity to family and friends; cultural advantage.

Cons:

Top quality research environment. unlikely to see a concentration of multiple active faculty in the same area. This will likely affect the quality of the peer group you will be working with. That said, there are exceptions to this.
Exposure. If the faculty advisor is not invested in your growth, then you will not get the exposure in the quality of problems you tackle, feedback on other skills such as communicating your work, etc.
Miss out on learning about new cultures; meeting new people.

The top 3 research universities vs. the rest

You will likely start off your research journey by doing a research internship of sorts. Somewhere along the way, you will consider your next steps: of which universities to apply to. And approaching this question right is important and nuanced.

If you’re thinking “I should apply to xIT for my PhD because it’s the most reputed college in the country”, then you’re likely going about this incorrectly.

Here’s some context:

Almost every country will have a few research programs that are fiercly competitive and are very selective. We call these the “top 3 schools”, without really listing specific names of universities/schools. Typically, their reputation drives the quality of applications they receive, making it almost necessary to have a flawless record to get in.

Don’t let your aspirations be limited to these top 3 schools, and don’t be discouraged by their very stringent requirements either.

Most competitive Ph.D./MS-research programs do not need you to have prior publications, “a strong track record” of having done research already, or having perfect grades in all your classes, etc. That said, these programs are nevertheless competitive, and the $500k USD perspective still applies, so having a meaningful application ensures you are evaluated seriously.

As mentioned in earlier modules, your advisor/mentor - the person you will work with during your research stint - is significantly more important than the name of the university or research program. Consider a field you are excited about, having worked in it a little to get a taste for research, and having identifed a small problem or so along the way that you are excited about. Apply to 5-6 professors (irrespective of where they are employed) you have found out who are actively working on related problems. This deemphasizes the romantic notions associated with a place of study, and rather focuses on the content of what you will end up working on.

Yes, a “top 3” school will likely expose you to equally motivated peers, and you will definitely learn a lot. That does not mean you won’t have a similar experience in other competitive schools.

Aside—for argument’s sake, let us believe that the “best” professors (whatever that means) are all working only in the top 3 universities, and only they train and produce the “best” PhD students. Will all these PhD students end up becoming professors at these top 3 schools? No. They will likely join some non-top 3 schools as well–the number of faculty positions is typically far fewer than the number of PhD students graduating in any year. The “best” faculty can thus be found in other schools as well :-)

I did not get to engage with any research during my undergrad. What next then?

Earnestly understand your undergrad course material.
During undergrad, or right after, work as an RA in a relevant lab in India to gain concrete skills and experience in research—this could be through a summer research program (see the resources section for links), or by you reaching out to labs you think are interesting.
Doing this will require you to first commit a serious number of hours in doing your homework–mentioned in module 4.
You will then likely have to email professors and speak to your strengths, utilizing all you have learned in the previous modules.

If you ended up having an excellent RA experience at an academic lab, or at pre-doctoral programs offered by the likes of Google, Microsoft, etc. (see the resources section), and you now have a strong sense for what you want to work on and who you think will best be able to guide you, then you should just go ahead and apply for a PhD with them.

But if you are still not sure, liked your RA experience, and want to explore this further, then consider one of –

Doing an M.Tech/M.S. at any of (and only) the top universities in India by writing and excelling at GATE. A few IITs provide the option of doing an MS-by-research without needing a GATE score. This education will be essentially free of cost, while offering world class graduate level coursework+research opportunities.
Doing an MS program outside India which has a strong thesis component + will fund you fully. Most universities in Canada provide an MASc, which is different from a professional masters degree, and is fully funded (tuition + stipend), or
Working at a cutting edge corporate research lab. Finding such labs are hard, since they generally require advanced degrees to get in in the first place (see the resources section for a few that I know of which hire undergrads).

Hence, if you want to maximize your likelihood, your best bet is to do a solid masters degree where you will be exposed to advanced coursework, and state of the art research.

In this process, figure out what problems in a particular research area really bother you which you see yourself solving, and then consider who the best researchers are in the world who might support you to solve that problem. You should then consider applying to them/their university and doing your Ph.D. with them.

Don’t worry too much about the “name” and “prestige value” of the school you apply to - people matter more. You are significantly better off doing your Ph.D. with a professor whose research interest matches yours but is at an “okay” university, than doing it with a professor with unrelated interests but who’s at an “elite” university.

See the note by Prof. Charles Sutton linked in the resources section on how to use websites which rank different universities and departments.

Summary

Ensure you enjoy research by indulging in it in some way: summer fellowships, RA in a lab, etc. This will require you doing your homework before you even reach out inquiring about such vacancies. This is a hard step. Be patient, systematically keep skilling up while trying out small problems in an area which catches your fancy.
If you enjoyed your initial experience doing research and identified a problem that bothers you enough that you want to attempt solving it in a graduate school setting, then find professors who work on similar problems: you will have something meaningful to talk about with them when you reach out. Do not worry too much about which graduate school you get into–the person you work with for five years matters more.
Back your claims of your interest in a field with non-trivial work displaying your expertise—could be a software you have extended; set of interesting questions you asked and investigated yourself which led to the current problems that bother you, etc.
Have a publicly available webpage where you can show off such work that you have done.
Evaluate whether you can put together 2-3 letter writers who have seen you being modestly successful at research/independent thought/dogged determination to implement ideas, etc. If not, when seeking research opportunities in step 0 above, consider labs where you’re hopeful the principal investigator of the lab will write you a letter if you end up enjoying the process and do a good job at it. In the Indian context, this routinely translates to a toxic power dynamic–make sure you communicate your expectations in writing and have a discussion with them on what you intend to get out of the experience once you start feeling you’re doing well and are enjoying the process.

--- title: "Module 5: Next steps" from: markdown+emoji --- ## Graduate school, Research jobs We provide some information on applying to graduate schools for Ph.D. programs. The process is likely similar for research jobs, but the number of such opportunities is much fewer. ## MS (outside India) vs. Ph.D. A masters degree pursued outside India is generally a "professional" degree--i.e. it is designed to get you job-ready. It generally does not involve any research. M.Sc. degrees offered by a few Canadian universities, etc. are exceptions to this--details in the following section. An MS degree has relatively lower barriers to entry - they expect you to do well in GRE, TOEFL, and have decent undergrad grades + work experience. Importantly, you pay for your education in most cases. You pay anwhere between 20-40 lakh INR (25 to 50,000 USD) per year. The idea is you take loans, get through your courses, and get a job which will help you repay that loan. Many use this to get into research engineer-like jobs, but that's generally not the norm. Most use this as a way to get jobs outside India. ## The $500k USD perspective Ph.D. programs exclusively focus on research. In addition to Ph.D. programs, a few masters degrees (like some M.Sc. degrees offered by universities in Canada and Europe) offer opportunities to do research (examples: [SFU](https://www.sfu.ca/computing/current-students/graduate-students/financial-support.html), [UBC](https://www.cs.ubc.ca/students/grad/prospective/funding/financial), [UoT](https://web.cs.toronto.edu/graduate/funding-tuition-awards)). There's one important difference here when compared to MS programs---the university pays for your tuition and living expenses. Let that sink in. The university (more specifically, your research advisor who will likely hire you) is willing to pay out somewhere close to USD 50,000 for 5-6 years of your Ph.D. That amounts to 40L INR per year x 6 years = 2.4 crore INR. Why would anyone want to pay so much to get you to come work with them? What gives? And that should help answer how prepared you are expected to be as an incoming Ph.D. student. While jobs in the industry which pay as much as 40L INR per year have pretty well defined guidelines on how to prepare for them, what to expect, and how to apply, there is little information on how to "prepare" for and apply to research programs in universities. Likewise, a reality that you should accept, given the quantum of money some university/faculty is willing to bet on you: you need to possess a base set of skills, and should be able to demonstrate and communicate your proficieny in those skills to your potential advisor for them to justify betting/spending that money on you. Further, it is likely you will enjoy the Ph.D. process if you already have a broad direction you want to explore, and have some experience working in that direction. **This should also sound familiar to you by now: [of doing your homework first!](m4.html#do-your-homework)** Watch [Prof. Shriram Krishnamurthy's hour long talk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IprN9fPV2LI) where he provides more details on this $500K USD perspective. ## MS (Research), Ph.D. in India vs. outside There are pros and cons to both. Pros of pursuing a Ph.D./MS-research in India: - Relatively inexpensive. - Relatively well defined entrance requirements: doing well in standardized national exams like GATE, etc. - Proximity to family and friends; cultural advantage. Cons: - _Top quality research environment._ unlikely to see a concentration of multiple active faculty in the same area. This will likely affect the quality of the peer group you will be working with. That said, there are exceptions to this. - _Exposure._ If the faculty advisor is not invested in your growth, then you will not get the exposure in the quality of problems you tackle, feedback on other skills such as communicating your work, etc. - Miss out on learning about new cultures; meeting new people. ## The top 3 research universities vs. the rest You will likely start off your research journey by doing a research internship of sorts. Somewhere along the way, you will consider your next steps: of which universities to apply to. And approaching this question right is important and nuanced. **If you're thinking "I should apply to xIT for my PhD because it's the _most reputed_ college in the country", then you're likely going about this incorrectly.** Here's some context: Almost every country will have a few research programs that are fiercly competitive and are very selective. We call these the "top 3 schools", without really listing specific names of universities/schools. Typically, their reputation drives the quality of applications they receive, making it almost necessary to have a flawless record to get in. Don't let your aspirations be limited to these top 3 schools, and don't be discouraged by their very stringent requirements either. Most competitive Ph.D./MS-research programs do not *need* you to have prior publications, "a strong track record" of having done research already, or having perfect grades in all your classes, etc. That said, these programs are nevertheless competitive, and the $500k USD perspective still applies, so having a *meaningful* application ensures you are evaluated seriously. As mentioned in earlier modules, your advisor/mentor - the person you will work with during your research stint - is significantly more important than the name of the university or research program. Consider a field you are excited about, having worked in it a little to get a taste for research, and having identifed a small problem or so along the way that you are excited about. Apply to 5-6 professors (irrespective of where they are employed) you have found out who are *actively* working on related problems. This deemphasizes the romantic notions associated with a place of study, and rather focuses on the content of what you will end up working on. Yes, a "top 3" school will likely expose you to equally motivated peers, and you will definitely learn a lot. That does not mean you won't have a similar experience in other competitive schools. Aside---for argument's sake, let us believe that the "best" professors (whatever that means) are all working only in the top 3 universities, and only they train and produce the "best" PhD students. Will all these PhD students end up becoming professors at these top 3 schools? No. They will likely join some non-top 3 schools as well--the number of faculty positions is typically far fewer than the number of PhD students graduating in any year. The "best" faculty can thus be found in other schools as well :-) ## I did not get to engage with any research during my undergrad. What next then? Earnestly understand your undergrad course material. During undergrad, or right after, work as an RA in a relevant lab in India to gain concrete skills and experience in research---this could be through a summer research program (see the [resources section](./m6.qmd) for links), or by you reaching out to labs you think are interesting. **Doing this will require you to first commit a serious number of hours in [doing your homework](m4.html#do-your-homework)--mentioned in [module 4](m4.html).** You will then likely have to email professors and speak to your strengths, utilizing all you have learned in the previous modules. If you ended up having an excellent RA experience at an academic lab, or at pre-doctoral programs offered by the likes of Google, Microsoft, etc. (see the [resources section](./m6.qmd)), and you now have a strong sense for what you want to work on and who you think will best be able to guide you, then you should just go ahead and apply for a PhD with them. But if you are still not sure, liked your RA experience, and want to explore this further, then consider one of -- - _Doing an M.Tech/M.S. at any of (and only) the top universities in India by writing and excelling at GATE._ A few IITs provide the option of doing an MS-by-research without needing a GATE score. This education will be essentially free of cost, while offering world class graduate level coursework+research opportunities. - _Doing an MS program outside India which has a strong thesis component + will fund you fully._ Most universities in Canada provide an MASc, which is different from a professional masters degree, and is fully funded (tuition + stipend), or - _Working at a cutting edge corporate research lab._ Finding such labs are hard, since they generally require advanced degrees to get in in the first place (see the [resources section](./m6.qmd) for a few that I know of which hire undergrads). Hence, if you want to maximize your likelihood, your best bet is to do a solid masters degree where you will be exposed to advanced coursework, and state of the art research. In this process, figure out what problems in a particular research area really bother you which you see yourself solving, and then consider who the best researchers are in the world who might support you to solve that problem. You should then consider applying to them/their university and doing your Ph.D. with them. :::{.callout-tip appearance="minimal"} Don’t worry too much about the "name" and "prestige value" of the school you apply to - people matter more. You are significantly better off doing your Ph.D. with a professor whose research interest matches yours but is at an "okay" university, than doing it with a professor with unrelated interests but who’s at an “elite” university. ::: See the note by Prof. Charles Sutton linked in the [resources section](./m6.qmd) on how to use websites which rank different universities and departments. ## Summary 0. Ensure you enjoy research by indulging in it in some way: summer fellowships, RA in a lab, etc. This will require [you doing your homework](/m4.qmd##do-your-homework) before you even reach out inquiring about such vacancies. **This is a hard step.** Be patient, systematically keep skilling up while trying out small problems in an area which catches your fancy. 1. If you enjoyed your initial experience doing research and identified a problem that bothers you enough that you want to attempt solving it in a graduate school setting, then find professors who work on similar problems: you will have something meaningful to talk about with them when you reach out. Do not worry too much about which graduate school you get into--the person you work with for five years matters more. 2. Back your claims of your interest in a field with non-trivial work displaying your expertise---could be a software you have extended; set of interesting questions you asked and investigated yourself which led to the current problems that bother you, etc. Have a publicly available webpage where you can show off such work that you have done. 3. Evaluate whether you can put together 2-3 letter writers who have seen you being modestly successful at research/independent thought/dogged determination to implement ideas, etc. If not, when seeking research opportunities in step 0 above, consider labs where you're hopeful the principal investigator of the lab will write you a letter if you end up enjoying the process and do a good job at it. In the Indian context, this routinely translates to a toxic power dynamic--make sure you communicate your expectations in writing and have a discussion with them on what you intend to get out of the experience _once you start feeling you're doing well and are enjoying the process_.