Fresh PhD: What to do ?
Gajendra P.S. Raghava
Friday, 31 July 2009 15:51 UTC
A large number of PhD students are confused; What to do after PhD? Few years back answer was simple, 99% good student goes for PDF abroad. It is because PDF abroad was a dream for students due to number of reasons including
i) high salary (comparison to indian salary),
ii) status in society (complexity problem, person is considered superior if working abroad),
iii) exposure (opportunity to work with reputed scientist),
iv) good publications etc.
In the era of Internet, every thing is discussed openly (blogs/forum). Now student understand that PDF abroad also have lot of problems like poor salary, no future, uncertainty etc . In this situation student is quite confuse, its not clear for them what to do after PhD or what is good for them in long run. A fresh student have number of options, following are major options
i) Academic job in india (scientist/professor), earlier this is least preferred. Nowadays this profession also have reasonable salary with stable and tension free life. Only difficulty is to compete globally due number of reasons including working hands are PhD student rather than PDF.
ii) PDF abroad, most preferred option so far, after reading status of PDF on forum/blog, some PhD students feel they are living better life during PhD than PDF abroad.
iii) Joining private company in India, lot of students feel this is black box. Much more insecure than PDF, most of company are not doing great research so their is chance that student will not grow.
This is my personal view based on my experience and my discussions with PhD students. I wants to know from experienced members their view. What is better carrier option for a PhD student in long term.
Updated 31 July 2009 15:56 UTC
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Just posted almost the same message in Joining private companies for Biotech-Pharma R&D sector in India.
I can post that response here too. I think the planning to take research as career should start little before PhD, preferably after BSc or latest after MSc (as the student should have enough indications by that time).
The answer can be varying depending on one’s own situation, ambition and ability to take risk (both career-wise and financially). In an ideal situation, where there is no pressure to join jobs (monetary concern) or to gather degrees under self-imposed pressure (or pressure from families and relatives) then I will suggest doing the following:
1. Find out what you really want and what makes you happy.
2. If you think you really enjoy research in any particular subject, ONLY THEN go for it. Otherwise you can join many other professions where you can earn much more and can have good social recognition as well.
3. Once you decide to join research, your first job is to find a suitable person whom you can respect as human being first and then to learn practical aspects of research. S/he may not be a very famous or intelligent scientist but I’ll prefer such person to a cunning, dishonest but famous scientist to groom my initial career (if given a chance).
4. If possible get out of India and do your PhD in a West European country (e.g Switzerland, Germany, UK, Sweden etc. Prefer English speaking country for social reasons). Time bound PhD program (as followed in most European countries) is a better career option than open- ended PhD programs followed by USA and India.
5. Then it’s a very personal choice. It depends on what you have learned both scientifically and socially till your PhD; what quality standard of your own research you like to maintain and many other equally important aspects (family and social life). Many questions are not scientific at all (mostly related to your personal view about life, family etc) to take the decision where to settle and how. But by that time you should have enough experience to decide yourself!
6. Keep in mind that you will not learn basic research (i.e analytical capability) after PhD. As a Postdoc you will be learning mainly techniques. Any decent scientists will expect you to guide your own research. If you show the symptoms that you can not do it, then you will be used as technicians (as majority of Indians do here in US). You may get many excellent first author publications by doing just that, but you will never become a successful scientist by your own right (if you really care about it!). Even after getting faculty position, you will remain a technician and only technicians will be produced from your lab.
It’s again a tough question to answer where to settle finally. It all depends of your social views and ability to adjust with situations. Apart from India, USA is a good country for a foreigner to settle. Mainly for social reasons and also due to vast opportunities within and beyond research, although quality of science education, research and life is worse as compared to many West European countries. European countries are excellent to learn science but too racist to live for longer term for a foreign origin person who have a strong sense of self-respect.
I am not going into the option of settling in India as yet. That option is always there.
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Hello every body!
I am a PhD student at the end of my first year…….so I am fairly inexperienced….or you may call me a toddler in science education. I have been recently following your blogs…and I seem to completely identify with your concerns…..and being a Phd student (though it is a bit early for me to worry)I do worry about what my next course of action should be with regard to my career.
I read the post by Jayanta chatterjee and I may say that I have probably got the first step correct as I am doing my PhD in the UK (uni of Leeds) in a highly competetive lab and I think I am getting trained in some good techniques. I am not sure how much I am getting trained to think for myself (analytically) about my project. However I do feel that depends on an individual and his or her understanding of the field and ability to think laterally. However I do try and think and ask questions…I only hope I do get better at this with time and experience.
However, my real concern is what do I do next? I have a 4 yr PhD programme… so I still have a few years before I really need to worry…but stilll at times its puzzling! I have no idea about how science is back home….but from your blogs I gather that it is not terribly good. I do not want to live abroad for all my life and I am certain about this. I feel that if you are an Indian in UK ( I am not sure elsewhere) you are not respected. I do not entirely blame them for that though. They cannot think of Indians other than Taxi drivers and owners of takeaway restaurants ( I am howvere not trying to say that I do not respect labour…at the same time I do not want myself to be thought of an immigrant in england doing nothing more worthwhile than driving a cab…because I am not an immigtant at all…I am a forigner living here to study!!!). Besides I have this ideological beleif that if I am among those few priviledged Indians who has got good education then it is really upto us to take up that extra challenge and contribute to our own countries development in whatever little way possible.
I am however not sure at what stage of my career should I move back home? Is it best to try and do a Post doc in the UK or the US? I am more keen on trying to do a postdoc in the US..for two simple reasons…a) Travel to another part of the world and b) to train my self and see what research is like in the US ..now that I have seen it in the UK….
I would like suggestions from all of you…
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Anonymous
I am a faculty who does both teaching and research in India. I believe a PDF is essential if you wish to pursue a career in research. In many institutions, a PDF is a must for a faculty position. PDF can be a good educating experience just to learn how science is performed at reputed places abroad. I learnt a lot from my PDF boss in USA.
Coming to Debleena’s point, I would recommend doing PDF in USA and subsequently head for India. I always derived the best satisfaction from my work in India.
Finally I should tell everyone who wishes to return to India that you should be prepared to build and setup whatever you need all by yourself. If you can do so then you shall have no problem in being a successful researcher here.
Good Luck.
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Lets start with Deblina’s concern.
If you are sure that you like to settle in India, then try to go back early. Further you delay, harder it will be for you to adjust there. But remember that your perception about life, civil governance has changed a lot during last few years of your stay in UK/US. What you earlier used to accept as “no big deal” can be a real headache now. Lastly when you left India you were a student and probably used to live with either parents or in a hostel. But now when you will be back, you will be living alone (with your own family) for an independent life; not as a student and not under the protection of your parents (true for many of us).
Mainly two types of people prefer to go back. One for personal, social reasons (I’ll include home-sickness in that category as well). Secondly, kids from powerful families, students having strong backing- mainly from their well-connected parents and relatives. They prefer to go back to enjoy many extra-constitutional privileges they always have in India. Such people never like to live in Western countries as “no body” and obey the laws of the land, fight to establish themselves, fight to get grants and so on. India is always a much comfortable place for them with feudal life style, almost no hard rule applicable to them (both in social life and academic/research field). They will send their kids to UK-USA, almost all the foreign bound scholarships/fellowships (partly or fully paid by Indian tax payers’ money) will be gifted to the kids of such people. They always prefer to go back to India and continue the cycle their parents-grandparents started. They are too kin to maintain that family tradition.
The first category of students who go back to India (due to strong family-India connection but without having a strong Godfather) becomes the work-horses for the second category of foreign-returnees to get the glory and success. If the first category of foreign-returnees start showing more ambition than simply enjoying the protection and security provided to them by the second category, then it becomes a problem. They they will feel the heat but hardly can do anything in Indian context. By that time, they can not go out and get a decent position abroad, although some do just that. Majority of them have no other alternative but grin and bear till the rest of his/her life. I know many brilliant researchers who never like to go back to India simply for this reason. Then comes the caste and religion related problem. Here in US they never face that humiliation and enjoy their new found self-respect and life with reasonable dignity.
It’s not only the professional life but also personal life becomes affected there in India. It becomes more painful for any Indian woman who have tested freedom and dignity (in real sense) in Western world. -
In short, if you are not from a powerful family and/or do not have any strong Godfather in political and scientific circle, yet like to go back India to change the Indian system, have any slightest ambition to achieve top position in Indian scientific establishment and most importantly, if you think you have a strong backbone (if you can not keep mum, at least, when you witness rampant corruption in front of your eyes)- then think many times before you go back to India.
It needs exceptionally brilliant administrative skill (non-existent in this world, so far I know) to sustainably navigate Indian scientocracy (bureaucracy in higher education and research field) and get your work done to improve the quality of higher education and research, even in your own group and/or in your institute. -
Anonymous
I do not agree with Mr Goel, it seems he has more theoretical rather than real knowledge about indian govt. jobs. If you have joined as permanent position which is not difficult if you have good publications during your PhD/PDF then you may live a decent life. Statistics shows most of successful scientists are from poor families and rural area. Same time you enjoy to work independently, nobody can force you to do wrong thing if you do not wish to take undue advantage of system, as you have permanent jobs. In reverse if you check statistics most of indian students work their whole life as a PDF/labor, where somebody used you for his/her carrier. I am not sure how a person can live his whole life as PDF, it is impossible for a person who have self respect to live a full life depend on somebody. I will advise fresh PhD or or PDFs, if you have good publication record, join indian jobs as early as possible. Its up-to you how you mold Indian system (no body can touch you as you are on permanent job). This is at least better life than you life controlled by some body else.
Please write your view based on your own experience rather than based on media, which will right view.
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I can give many examples of what I said. But to avoid personal attack, I will not name any specific person here. In real life no person will admit that s/he has a Godfather and that’s why s/he is successful in getting fellowship, scholarships etc. It’s up to you to explore and in some rare occasions media reporting helps (as in case of ICGEB as mentioned in this forum earlier). But most of the time such influences remain hidden. You can ask many scholarship awardees like Jawaharlal Nehru scholarship, Rhodes, Commonwealth fellowship, Fullbright, Inlacks, felix etc and I am sure no one will admit that they got it due to family reason or Godfather. But let the HRD ministry publish the list and check who got it, from which city, which institute and you will have a clearer idea. So far I checked, mostly kids of influential parents or well connected people are selected for such fellowships/scholarships. Only in some rare cases general candidates get those.
You talk to any scientist from any CSIR institute in Lucknow (highest number of CSIR institutes in India, so far I know) and you will understand how director positions are filled. Why some recent directors in some CSIR institutes were involved in legal battles over appointment issues, why one of the very high flying directors of a CSIR institute in Lucknow were fired over corruption charge. A scientist without having ANY international publication but a PhD student and “Yes man” of the then current director were given scientist-E position and subsequently made director, sidestepping many able candidates within and outside that institute. Many scientists in that group were recruited from the same department, the same “yes boss” faculties/PhD students where the director was working. Such stories are too common in Indian universities and institutes. Rarely they get caught and punished. Mostly such instances are unnoticed by media and public. Affected scientists keep such experiences to themselves for obvious reasons. Only personal meetings with such people and personal experiences can guide you towards truth. You may not know such incidents in your place of work, but that does not mean that it’s not there or other institutes are not having that. Even our present HRD minister, Kapil Sibbal admitted political influences in appointing VCs, directors, faculties. -
Want some specific cases reported in Media? I only mentioned news about Central Universities and a National Institute Check below-
HRD appoints panel to probe charges against AMU top brass
The committee has been given three months time to submit its report on a range of allegations made against the Vice-Chancellor, Registrar and certain tangential authorities of the varsity.Gauhati High Court today rejected an anticipatory bail appeal of Tezpur University Vice-Chancellor (VC) P C Deka, wanted in a case of alleged financial irregularities
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Anonymous
It’s a different issue if “anybody can touch you” or not being in a permanent position in Govt institute and doing research in your own merit without being subservient to anybody and opposing corruptions. I have no problem do continue as PDF if my boss is a decent person and as long I enjoy research under a learned and honest scientist than becoming a permanent scientist under the leadership of a stupid and corrupt senior scientist, HOD or Director.
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Anonymous
The person who replaced tainted Dr (?) Tuli to become CIMAP director, Dr SPS Khanuja also had to resign from CIMAP on corruption charges. Both Dr Tuli and Dr Khanuja were very powerful in Lucknow science circle and CSIR. I know at least few scientists who had to leave CIMAP simply because they could not get along with Dr Khanuja. Previous director of CIMAP was also not above suspicion and allegations within and outside CIMAP. After retirement he is currently working in a Delhi based National institute.
Keep in mind that Dr Khanuja was handpicked by ex-HRD minister MM Joshi (as per the link posted before)!
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