K. Nusrat Islam

Journey of my Ph.D. marathon

You may wonder why I am comparing my Ph.D. journey to a marathon! That's right. Many of you already may agree with me - it is a long run. I mean very long run. Some people finish this marathon way faster than you can even imagine. But if we think of the big picture, I can tell you the percentage is very low who are lucky to finish their marathon early.

Now, why am I starting this writing with Ph. D. marathon? - because, when we start to run in general, we are very energetic in the beginning, and then our energy begins to reduce a bit after running, and then guess what? Some of us stop in the middle; some may get off the line; some rest aside on the line until they feel to begin running again. And others? They just keep their pace until to touch the finishing line. I always wonder about myself which category I am in. I can say I am almost at the end of the finishing line; especially last few months were extremely stressful, and I have thought millions of times to quit Ph.D.

Hang in there! This is not an easy journey. Everyone probably knows that. But the question is, how many of us can continue? How many of us are in a situation where we don’t know where to go, we don’t know what to be done next. When I started my Ph.D., I knew it wouldn’t be easy, but I didn’t realize it would be this hard. I have learned so many things past few months. I remember, a few weeks ago, my mom asked me did I fail? Why am I taking so long to finish my degree? And then she reminded me of one of the other persons who recently graduated but came into the USA after two years I came in. I just listened to my mother but didn’t say anything. Well, this is the one place where I don’t voice myself. I just told my mother that I would be graduating soon. But then, later, I have thought about it for a while. I am really supposed to finish way earlier than now. Why am I still way behind others from the finishing line even though I have started earlier than them? I took time to think about it. And I’ve learned the following things that I am sharing with you.

• Be strong and confident - Never give up on yourself. Never ever. Just keep trying. Initially, it would seem to be exceedingly difficult, but just don’t give up on yourself. I can write many examples of how you can achieve your confidence, but let’s say you’re taking a super difficult class that you have never taken in your life – you may not see a single word in the syllabus in front of you. You just stare at the course syllabus and think of quitting! But remember, our brain is learning new things every day. Think of yourself as a baby. Everything is new to a baby, and parents tell the baby one simple thing a million times. So, imagine your brain is a toddler's brain. And you just have to learn the way they learn! And if you understand a complex thing like a baby style – guess what! You are going to be the boss in that area. I’ve started my graduate school after almost 4.5 years I finished college. But this is not the point I want to mention here. In fact, I know many of my friends have done this. So, the thing I want to say here, that 4.5 years was a challenging time in my life, and after those long years of hardship when I started my graduate life, I literally started from zero. Believe it or not, I have started my Ph.D. in one of the hard topics (people around me say that!) of applied electromagnetics. And I wouldn’t feel embarrassed to say that I had utterly zero knowledge of this field. So, what did I do? Well, I did exactly what I had to. I spend uncountable hours reading books, watching YouTube on related topics, taking online free classes to build up my foundation that probably an undergrad usually doesn’t do that in one semester period when they take this class.

• Be positive and focused – Be focused from the very beginning of your first day in school or work. Don’t wait to set things later. This is a rule of thumb of any startup either Ph.D. or job, be positive and concentrated when you first stepped into your work zone. If you set yourself who you are on the first day, you would have so many things easier later. And of course, be respectful, be positive, be polite with everyone but don’t forget to be firmed and bold where necessary. And maintain a healthy relationship by creating a standard radius-based circle where you are at the center. And be careful who or what things you allow to enter your circle; also don’t hesitate to kick any threats off to keep your circle neat and clean. And of course, be focused within your home circle that you gradually build up to reach your goal. Don’t get distracted outside things of your circle, rather take your time to learn or see more how it goes. For example, one thing is very important to set your own path to finish your Ph.D. marathon line. Your dept. may have a pathway to achieve your goal. But still, a self-created path is always easy to follow. What I mean by this is you know yourself best! So, you set things; you make plans on your own but don't forget to follow the rules set by your university. Remember, you will be all alone on the way you just created. The way I got mine may not work for you so make it on your own the way you feel comfortable. I can give you a little tip here. The first question you should ask yourself when do you want to finish your degree. You may say as soon as possible. Well, this is a reasonable answer, but keep in mind no matter which university you are in but this degree things always follow a time rule. So, you must set up a “timeline” inside your brain or in your personal diary or in your email, or you can even stick a printed note on your bathroom wall. Well, visible things always make a memory stream into your brain that is hard to forget. Imagine yourself inside a train where you have many cabins. Imagine each cabin is a group of different research subjects. So, the tricky part is some of the cabin’s doors are always open, and you may want to compare your cabin with others. But do NOT compare yours with others, as I learned when I had a conversation with my mom.

• Be voiced and bold - Voice yourself! What does it mean? This is important. Whether your friends, colleagues, labmates or classmates, or your boss, your academic professor, or your advisor, it doesn’t matter who you are dealing with, but you must speak up! Remember, voice is the main thing in today’s world. If you are in a group meeting, don’t wait for other people to control yourself; instead, you take control of your work. You decide what to do and what needs to be done on your work and make sure people understand your idea. And, of course, voice your concern to your advisor. Remember, your advisor handles a lot of students at the same time. Don’t expect your boss remembers everything you say or what you have said two weeks before. So always say introduction when you talk to your boss/advisor. Your advisor may agree or disagree with your concern, but they take action based on the circumstances in most cases. If things do not get resolved, then don’t hesitate to reach the higher authority.

• Be proud and love yourself – Ok! this is the favorite thing I always like to think about. We all know that our life is not always smooth; we often get up and down, but the key factor is that we shouldn't get disappointed. Be proud of yourself. I am proud of so many things about myself. Sometimes I feel happier than ever. I think this is just because you love yourself! So, look at yourself. Ask yourself who you are! And think of all the good things in your life that you can be proud of. Don’t get worried about the bad things in your life; they are just part of your life. I define our life as writing a book where you add your own chapters that can't be deleted or undone! So, it’s ok if you write a few bad chapters accidentally or unintentionally. It’s good that you understand that you wrote some awful chapters – this will help you to write a good chapter who knows maybe the best chapter in your life for which you can be very proud of yourself!