<p>I have been a silent reader of CC for a year or so and got tremendous help from you. Now time to share my story with you guys.</p>
<p>Ok- Here it goes. International student:</p>
<p>I recently did my BS in Electrical Engineering from one of the most accredited universities(and difficult to get into and students from this university get pretty frequently into MIT, Stanford, Caltech etc) of my country and came out of it with disappointing 3.1 GPA with my major in Power Systems(had round about 3.3 in my final major year). When I got into engineering, I really did NOT have any thought of ever getting into P.hd in EE later in my life. I have been brilliant in my entire academic career EXCEPT my bachelors as I aced everything before my BS securing above 90% in everything. However, I could not perform that well in BS because of some financial problems and I had to work part-time to self-finance myself spending 5-6 hours on daily basis to my work.</p>
<p>Now after having such a dirty GPA, I suddenly have a desire to go for P.hd. To be honest, I am NOT that passionate about EE and all I want to do it for is to get into another developed country where there is financial stability or at least some social security and my country is having none of it(I know most of the foreign students do this just to go for a good opportunity out there).</p>
<p>Moreover, so far as in all under-developed countries, there has NOT been any research opportunities at undergrad level. I have made up my mind to go for MS in a very selective university of our country whose fees are high but is known for great faculty and great research opportunities. This is what I am finding the best bet for me at the moment. </p>
<p>To be frank, I do not aim the TOP 4 EE universities for Phd after I am done with MS EE as I really do not consider myself among those who have that "inherent" ability do absorb so well when it comes to numbers(I had some friends in some EE who just happened to absorb things immediately while I took some extra time and effort to get them into my bones). I am fine with mid-tier programs which can offer some prospects of decent living after I am done with my P.hd in EE. I am NOT that party-loving-guy and reasonable income will do enough for me.</p>
<p>Sorry for so detailed post and thanks for reading it if you have reached this far. Now I want to ask,
What should I do next?
Am I taking a suicidal path?
Will it make my life even more worse?</p>
<p>I am a hard-working guy and over-exertion towards work has not been a problem for me. Looking forward to your suggestions!</p>
<p>Not sure what to tell you other than to say that your plan sounds fine. It is very difficult to get into top schools in the US as a graduate student, so it’s definitely a good idea to just apply for the mid-tier schools. They are still excellent schools with good research productivity and job placement so there’s nothing wrong with your approach.</p>
<p>However, if you are going to pay large fees to attend this MS institution in your country, why not do the MS in the US?</p>
<p>The fees which I am saying “high” are NO way comparable to that of US universities’. They are far far less than that of even low-ranked universities in US. To give you a fair idea, I am talking about $8000 which is fairly “high” in my country due to high dollar to our local currency conversion rate.</p>
<p>The thing that actually worries me is the fact that I have already thought that P.hd in EE is only for those who are just insanely crazy about EE stuff and who just are “inherently” good enough at getting all that stuff. As I said in my earlier post, I am “decent” enough but NOT that kind of guy who absolutely loves the stuff.</p>
<p>Is it really the case?
Hard work important or extreme aptitude/intelligence required for P.hd? or may be both?
What I have observed after looking at my undergrad profs, they appear not that brilliant to me. Some of them are great but some appear average and seem absolutely nowhere near “crazy” about the subject in which they did their P.hD!</p>
<p>Maybe you don’t understand what a Ph.D entails. It basically commits your entire life to one thing, for a period of four to seven years… or more. You will become the world expert in one particular segment of electrical engineering.</p>
<p>If you don’t absolutely love what you’re doing, at some point, it’s going to sink in that you are spending five years of your life doing something you don’t love - and all that time will make you qualified to… only do that thing you don’t love.</p>
<p>Why would you want to spend five years doing something you don’t love, only to become the world expert in something you don’t love?</p>
<p>You are right and I completely agree with you.
But probably the financial downturn really had devastating impact on me and I am really looking for a move to a place where there is security and social stability and probably going for P.hd is the most practical thing I could look for(MS is really not an option).</p>
<p>Probably, I could not find out the particular “segment” in my undergrad as my undergrad program went scrappy due to the reasons I mentioned in my first post and I am getting into MS just to find out if I am really up for the research sort of thing and something that really stimulates me to keep on working for 5 years or so.
Renewable energy systems did entice me and I am looking forward to starting the research in this field soon.</p>
<p>You don’t have to absolutely love it… I know people who haven’t and still made it through. However, it wasn’t that pleasant for them, and it’ll just be extra stress.</p>
<p>Yes, I literally know many many of them who really did not have ANY sort of passion or any sort of aptitude for lingering on to EE research for more than 5 years but finally they got through and at times, I still wonder how did they even get through as they are poor at the basics of EE! Again, I am NOT talking about people from MIT or Stanford caliber for they will certainly be from some other planet. I am talking about some mid-tier universities.</p>
<p>First of all - the . in PhD comes after the Ph. It stands for “philosophy.” Ph.D, or PhD. Not P.hd.</p>
<p>You don’t have to have “extreme” aptitude to get a PhD. You have to have an above-average level of intelligence and aptitude, yes, but that’s only the beginning. Hard work is the most important thing getting you through a PhD program. It’s a 4 to 7 year dogged pursuit of knowledge. If you are not passionate about EE, then you will not survive it, because you will be so frustrated, depressed, and upset that you will want to leave. Can you finish it if you don’t have the drive? Possibly, if you are good at finishing things you don’t want to do while battling emotional distress (and possibly a bona fide mental illness). Graduate school, particularly PhD programs, are incredibly stressful for the people who WANT to be here and who actually ARE passionate about their research. I can only imagine what it’s like for people who actually do not like their areas.</p>
<p>Second of all, if you only want to get a PhD for immigration purposes, you are very unlikely to get admitted to any program. I don’t think it’s a “suicidal” path, but I DO think that it will make your life worse if you are not at all interested in electrical engineering and then you select into a program to study it for 4-6+ years. A PhD program is very intense; it’s not like undergrad 2.0.</p>
<p>“Second of all, if you only want to get a PhD for immigration purposes, you are very unlikely to get admitted to any program.”</p>
<p>^Don’t know how true it is!</p>
<p>But I am getting what your point is. Any other option I can look for? May be, I can give a try? Obviously, I am not sure shot about anything as of yet but hopefully there is not any wrong in trying.</p>