Decision-Making (Study in the States!)

Study in the US:

Update: August 19, 2022

Please follow the following official website: Your Guide to studying in the U.S.

Please visit my website for knowing more about my research and work experience.

Read about the current situation (say, pandemic) in any country you want to pursue higher education or job opportunities and if it's worth taking the risk. Refer to official websites about the information: CDC, WHO. 

Here's an interesting read about U.S. work visas for international students.

Decision for pursuing MS/PhD in US:

- Consider your short- and long-term goals before finalizing the decision to travel abroad and pursue degree program.
- The future goals will involve your perspective on professional and personal life.
- Family as well as financial support is important. You no longer stay with your parents or family in a new country. You might not get a chance to meet them for a period of 1 year or more, since you will focus on your studies/research/internship or RA/TA commitments. You might be lucky to get atleast a month vacation to travel to home and back. You have to take decisions on your own, while living in a new country.
- For getting admit in top-rank US school, you need

• an impressive academic background -- GPA (more than 3.0/4.0) + research publications help a lot; 
• work-experience -- atleast 1-2 years, can or cannot be related to the academic program you are applying to;
• GRE -- more than 320/340, specifically Analytical writing (AW) score more than 4.0/6.0;
• TOEFL -- more than 100/120, specifically Speaking section (> 20/25). Alternatively, choose IELTS depending on University/Department requirements;
• Statement of Purpose (SOP) -- good writing skills directed to the research you intend to work on, also specifying the Professor/research laboratory you are interested to work with. Contact Professors before applying, in order to check if you have a chance in getting admit and if it's worthwhile submitting the application;
• Letter of Recommendation (LOR) -- contact Professors in your previously attended University and/or industrial contacts who know you well and can write really good recommendation for you; give them enough time before the deadline.
• Depending on availability of the positions and your skills, you might get a Research/Teaching Assistantship or both (funding your academic program (tuition+health insurance+other education costs) + biweekly stipend). Apply before deadline to get the opportunity.
• You might NOT need ALL of the above documents/paper work for application. Under special circumstances, you can be waived of GRE or TOEFL/IELTS scores or any other documents submission. Check the application requirements which are different for every University/Department/Major.

- Keep in mind, 2 ambitious + 2 expected + 2 average University/Department/Major choices. Your choice of Major (Specialization for Degree Program) can change with respect to your previous education or work experience. Your SOP will explain your goals in research and professional life.

- Some Career Counseling services (back home) might not be helpful AT ALL! They don't show you a complete picture. It is better not to rely entirely on these money-making services. So collect as much information as you can get online yourself and by talking to neighbors/college-mates having similar interests as you. In the end, YOU are the one pursuing your life goals. No one can spoon-feed/push you.  "There ain't no such thing as a free lunch!"

- In case you don't have a prior research experience as Bachelors/UnderGraduate student, NEVER apply to PhD position directly. First, apply to MS with thesis option if you are really interested in pursuing research opportunities or else MS with Capstone project/internship option with more coursework. Second, if you really like the MS with thesis option, working with a particular Faculty/Department/University/Country, only then you go ahead for applying for PhD positions. This gives you ample time to think about your career goals and make decisions if you are not satisfied with the choices that you made. MS with thesis option needs 2-3 year commitment, MS with Capstone project/internship option needs 1.5-2 year commitment and PhD option needs 4-6 year commitment.

- The most common misconception is that PhDs stay in academia; read this post about PhDs transitioning to non-academic careers.

- Apply for internships (industry or national lab) during summer and/or fall/spring semester after finishing 1st year of full-time coursework. This will be useful in gaining work experience in US and possibly extending to a full-time job further.

- Ph.D. and M.S. (with thesis option) students need additional efforts compared to M.S. (without thesis option) if they intend to graduate within the limited 2 or 4 years respectively. Since this stated period involves:

 1) satisfying coursework requirements, 

 2) research work and required publications (keep in touch with your advisor regularly and discuss your weekly research updates and graduation requirements), 

 3) RA/TA work which is not included in your thesis (most circumstances unless you are funded by your advisor or external collaborator directly for your thesis work),

 4) writing thesis (don't assume that this is the easiest part because you need to write and get it approved by defense committee),

 5) job search as you get closer to graduation (since F1 VISA provides only 3 months of unemployment at the beginning of OPT period after your graduation, it is impossible to find a job, give interviews and get an offer within such a limited time),

 6) Assume that you will rarely get a month vacation to travel to home or any other place you would like since you cannot afford to spend an additional period for your graduation. You will be on a tight schedule.

 7) Lastly, during a full-time job in the industry after you graduate with M.S., you earn at least 3-5 times the amount of stipend received during a Ph.D. program. While the commitment to both the career paths need at least 40 hours per week, you have to decide your priorities. 

- Contact the previous/current students helps to get to know the REAL situation. Better be early to change the decision (of a particular Faculty/Department/University/Country)!

- Keep in touch with current situation of a particular Faculty/Department/University/Country where you intend to apply and make the final decision considering all the factors. The situation can NEVER be the same after you arrive, but you need to be aware of all the factors before you move in to the new place. ALWAYS have backup plans.

Following examples are based on my experiences during my stay in US. This might not happen to everyone but you need to be flexible in making decisions under these unforeseen circumstances. 

- Example 1: immigration policy for students or post-doctoral scholars can affect the length of your stay, funding opportunities, job-search (after graduation or end of post-doctoral contract).

- Example 2: A faculty that you chose to work with, during graduate studies or post-doctoral work can have limited/no funds for your research from their side. You might have to work as Teaching Assistant/Instructors or with external collaborators alternatively. 

- Example 3: After you arrive and start your graduate studies, the faculty can choose to move to another university/industry/national lab or take a sabbatical temporarily (0.5 to 1 year) or permanently. Accordingly, you have to move along with them or choose a new advisor or wait till they come back to the same University that you are studying at.

- Example 4:  NOT all MS or PhD students have guaranteed funding (GA/RA/TA/fellowship/scholarship) throughout their graduate studies. Hence, don't commit yourself unless you have a written offer regarding funding. Until you finish your coursework, you need to be on Full course load per semester (which needs funding for atleast 1-2 years). Don't assume that you can cover all expenses (living, tuition, health insurance) with your 20-hour part-time job. You need to apply for a scholarship/fellowship award and RA/TA to cover for your tuition and receive biweekly stipend, if you don't intend to apply for an education loan. After you finish your coursework requirements for a MS with thesis/ PhD degree, you can switch to reduced course load (1 credit-hour per semester) in case you no longer receive any funding.

Research topics:
- Selection of academic faculty and approval for their guidance is important while selecting research topics.
- Availability of the Faculty is important for guiding your research topic in case you are stuck or taking longer to accomplish the planned goals. A good faculty will ensure that you are on the right path and give you suggestions by considering your input too.
- Take significant amount of time to read along the past papers, current research and future scope for the particular selected topic.
- Might also need to consider financial support if you will be working in collaboration with industry or other research laboratories in your/other academic universities.
- Selected research topic for your graduate studies may/may not be aligned with the research projects which are funding your academic degree program.
- Funds for a particular research project/degree program can never last longer. There are always issues and/or delays. Don't be dependent on such projects/departmental funds if there's a chance of changing the research topic/track of your degree program suddenly after a certain amount of time.

Publications:
- Important for going ahead with any future plans (post-doc, academics ).
- First-author papers are indicative of your major contributions in your research work.
- Depending on a particular research lab/faculty, publications can be based on solo research work and/or collaborative research work.

I found the following link really useful to read before you go ahead for PhD applications. The guide is more oriented towards CS PhD but it covers most of the generic points for any major.

Also, visit the following link for general advice to graduate students and young scholars on how to navigate the world of academia.