If you want to pursue a PhD or land a high-level research position after your master’s degree, you need more than just good grades. During your master’s (MPhil, MSc, or equivalent), focus on activities that build your research profile, expand your network, and make you stand out in competitive applications. These 10 things will greatly improve your chances of getting a PhD offer or a well-paying research job.
𝟏. 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐩𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐫: If you want to pursue a PhD or land a high-level research position after your master’s degree, you need more than just good grades. During your master’s (MPhil, MSc, or equivalent), focus on activities that build your research profile, expand your network, and make you stand out in competitive applications. These 10 things will greatly improve your chances of getting a PhD offer or a well-paying research job.
𝟐. Select a Research-Oriented Supervisor: While selecting a supervisor for your master/MPhil thesis, go for the one who is publishing good qualitzy papers. This supervisor will help you to publish papers and introduce you to future opportunities.
𝟑. Build 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.
𝟒. Take High-Demand Courses 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.
