These 10 things will 10x your chances of getting a good job or a PhD position.
𝟏. 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐩𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐫: During your master/MPhil, you will work on several projects some of which will be research-focused especially your thesis project. Make sure that you work on projects with the potential to get you a published paper. Don’t wait for the right time, write and submit your papers.
𝟐. 𝐂𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐚 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡: While selecting a supervisor for your master/MPhil thesis, go for the one who is publishing good quality papers. This supervisor will help you to publish papers and introduce you to future opportunities.
𝟑. 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬: It’s always good to start collaborating with international professors. Build these collaborations during your master’s/MPhil. You can volunteer at this time. This collaboration may get you a PhD position after completing your master/MPhil.
How to identify the research gap for your PhD and MS/MPhil?
𝟒. 𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡: You will the option to select courses from a large pool of courses. Don’t go for the easy courses. Instead, select courses that either make you ready for industry or research.
𝟓. 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩 𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝟑 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬: Pick at least 3 hard skills and master these skills. For example, if you are in IT/computer science, you can pick Python programming, data engineering, and ML to master.
𝟔. 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩 𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝟑 𝐬𝐨𝐟𝐭 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬: Similarly, pick at least 3 soft skills and master them during these 2 years. These skills can be presentation, networking, and interview skills.
𝟕. 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬: Opportunities won’t knock at your door themselves. You need to learn how to create opportunities such as an industry internship, a research visit, establishing collaboration, and landing your dream position after the completion of your degree.
𝟖. 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭: If your schedule allows you to work as a teaching assistant or research assistant during master’s, go for it. It will get you skills that would help you in getting future jobs.
𝟗. 𝐆𝐞𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐬: While doing the rest, don’t forget to get good grades as they do help to get you a good job or PhD position afterward.
𝟏𝟎. 𝐃𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐢𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐝𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞: Some students just take courses without significant learning and complete the degree. Don’t take this path. Do master with a clear purpose such as learning skills, landing a specific job, or getting a top-notch PhD position. Once the purpose is defined, then execute accordingly.
Writer: Faheem Ullah
Assistant Professor
Computer Science, Australia