Getting ready for round 2

I have handed in my thesis which consisted of the research I had done at MIT. It was a valuable experience for me as I got a good insight into full-time research, as well as I learnt the difference between the approach to science at a US institution versus at a European one. It helped me decide to continue in academia and pursue a PhD degree.

In September I will be coming back to Oxford to start my research on superconductors. The advantage of doing PhD (or as it is called in Oxford - DPhil) in the UK is for example the fact that it only takes three years compared to average five to six year in the US. Admittedly, the US government invests more money into research; however the facilities in Oxford are more than satisfactory. In addition, there are more measurement instruments than e.g. at MIT where I usually had to book the microscopes a week ahead. Another advantage is that the research groups at Oxford tend to be smaller than the ones in the states and therefore you get more contact time with your supervisor. On the other hand the research in the US is focused more on the application rather than theory and thus some people find themselves more motivated at a US institution. The academic career development is also slightly different – in the US you tend to (hopefully) find a faculty job within two or three years of finishing your PhD whereas in the UK you generally spend more time at a Postdoc position.

At the moment I am not sure whether I want to stay in academia in the long term; however PhD seems to me like the best decision at the moment. It is an opportunity to do more, learn more and give back more. Science requires lot of patience, determination as well as creativity and consistency. Most of the time things don’t work but when they do, the reward is usually thousand times worth it.

If you want to discuss with me the application to UK/US universities either for an undergraduate or for a postgraduate degree please don’t hesitate to contact me either on my email or my facebook.