Breaking the norms

“After my Master’s in Physics, my father, who also happens to be a retired professor, insisted that I teach and I decided to give it a shot. Fifteen days into my new job, I realized that I was not fit for teaching and therefore quit after two months. Following that, while I was still figuring out what I could do, one day I saw an advertisement in a newspaper for PhD admissions and thought perhaps research could be an option for me. At that time, I had no idea what PhD was as it was never my plan.

Having completed my Bachelor’s and Master’s in a state university in Haryana, my exposure to alternative career opportunities was very limited. However, I decided to give my all to PhD entrance examinations and shut myself from everything else while preparing for the same. Fortunately, I cleared it but I did not want to do my research at University. I was aware of the research pattern there. Luckily, NIT Kurukshetra, which is in my hometown, was accepting PhD students during the same time and although my chances of getting in were very slim, everything worked out in the end and I ended up joining the institute.

I was very naive in the beginning and approaching people was never my strong suit; it became hard to connect with new people which resulted in me being at a new place without many friends. I also had no clue about research in the field and what I wanted to do in my PhD thesis. So I…