Why Research if I can Develop?!
Hello there! Alright, so it has been more than 3 months since my last blog, where I described how a CSE student’s life at IITR is being turned into a living hell by the system and professors. Sadly, the going has only got more challenging, with profs imposing more of their ingenious will on students. I recently had my ETEs, so I am brimming with academic frustration and will probably end up writing another blog, but that’s a topic for another day :P
Today, I will try and express my feelings about a question that comes to my mind a lot, especially in the last two months, with the going getting more complicated.
Why the hell am I continuing with research when I can develop and earn money instead?
Now, let me not be mistaken here. I don’t mean to sound pessimistic about the scope of research here. Instead, I will focus on what a beginner in research goes through in a development-centric environment. I will put forward all the thoughts that I have playing turns in my mind now and then when I look at my development-centric (or rather those preparing for campus SDE interns doing Competitive Programming) peers.
Alrighty! Assuming I have made my idea behind this entry clear enough to you. So let’s dive in!
P.S: I guess even if you are into any field that has a hard going, this blog should be helpful 😛
PPS: The following content is solely based on my personal experience.
When am I going to earn money?
So yes, this is one of the questions that used to bother me in the past. Looking at people getting paid for their SDE interns, or letting go of a stipend of 30–40k a month that I could definitely take up, and going with an unpaid research intern doesn't always keep the mind in peace. Now, you may go ahead and ask: “What do you expect to be paid with no experience and so little knowledge?”. Yes, you are right to ask the question, but the mind wants what it wants xD.
In my short time as an undergraduate researcher, I have learned that gaining experience, knowledge, and exposure is far more important than earning a few bucks. Look at it this way:
A dignified and professional researcher is training you for free!
You don’t have to pay the thousands of dollars it takes to study at a foreign university. You are getting to learn a lot at no cost. So, I guess this is sorted, right?
What about the extra extra extra extensive effort?
Cool so, this is a recent one. I am currently working remotely on two research projects under the same professor (I asked for one only and was handed two. Didn’t ask for extra work myself, to be clear 🙈). It’s been 2 months now. Every day I have to work for quite a period reading multiple papers, running experiments, analyzing and reporting the results. The cycle goes on and on and on. Sometimes, the sheer amount of work can get to one’s nerve, making him wonder, “Is any of this effort worth it? What if nothing of this works at the end?!”.
I would say this is a thing that makes research different from development. One doesn’t even know the feasibility of the goal. Often, ideas don’t work, and months of work have nothing to show for it (Hopefully, this won’t happen with our concept 😛). In development, things work out one way or another at the end (again, I don’t have much experience).
How much do I need to know?!
Right, so this is the most exciting as well as the scariest trait about being a researcher. There is no end to learning. Everyday bundles (if printed out, of course, :P) are posted on arxiv.org. You think about an idea, and there are high chances it’s already been implemented by a group of people in the past. You can’t know enough about a field to say, “I am efficient in the x field” unless you invented that field yourself :P. I have read almost a hundred research papers in 40 days (yes, basically that’s all I was doing at the start 😛), and still, I have to read more to ensure that I don’t end up duplicating a past work :3
The case of CP, on the other hand, is:
Let’s study these topics, practice questions on Interviewbit, Codechef, Codeforces, etc., and we are ready for an intern offer! Well, seems lucrative, doesn’t it? After all, we joined IIT dreaming about a simple path to success!
Sorry mate! That’s not how research works. It’s more than just some mundane and brainwashing concepts and questions. It is about creating an idea and seeing it make a difference!
Do researchers even have a life? I don’t think they do!
Right, so managing my life along with the research hasn’t been easy for me. And sadly, I am yet to find the right balance. When we do research, we are, on most of the occasions, trying new ideas. This makes the paper reading, experimenting, improvising, and repeats sprint a tad frustrating under some circumstances.
At these times, we generally have two options:
- Keep working on the problem with no gain other than pain.
- Just walk away for a while and maybe sleep on it.
This is a natural phenomenon. We can’t have the same energy throughout the day. We need to give ourselves a moment or two to enjoy.
Talking about myself, I am not always able to choose the same option. Sometimes, when the problem seems solvable quickly, I keep trying for hours with no real progress (so that’s sad). Other times, I go out and play cricket, watch few episodes of a web series, read a book or talk to people. This doesn’t sound a whole lot of enjoyment, but well a boy gotta do something. Ping me if you have some better ideas :P
Now, this is a drawback in research if you are a lazy person. You generally have to work much harder than other fields (leave young startups out!) cause, after all, you are the creator!
I have to complete so many tasks! How the hell am I going to achieve the deadline for the conference?!!!!
Right, so I have found myself in this situation quite frequently during my current intern. I generally have a lot on my plate to be completed between project meetings. Since I am the lead in both the projects (that’s right, a second-year undergrad leading two research projects 😛), I have to do most of the work.
This can get pretty overwhelming at the start. I used to work like a maniac at the beginning, not taking breaks, bad sleep schedule (I was literally stuck in the middle of IST and EST zones xD).
At this point, you have to be honest with yourself and the supervisor. Don’t think of yourself as a superhero who gets things done! We are humans trying to build robots, not trying to convert ourselves into one. 😉
This happens with developers, but research is a more risky environment cause missing a conference deadline might render your idea valueless if another paper with the same idea is published earlier!
What about my future? Where will I work?
Righty, arguably the most challenging question to answer for an undergrad researcher in India!
If I do CP, bag a campus intern, and then a PPO, my life’s set. I no more have to worry!
Instead, if I do research, I have to send multiple emails, reminders to professors, waiting for their replies (which are as occasional as a solar eclipse, shitty chances, I know!). Then, after a project is over, if you are lucky, the professor will recommend you to one of his/her connections, and you work again! If you are not, well, repeat the sprint! Then comes the times of MS, PhDs, send applications to various universities, also waiting for a reply. Sounds a bit too scary? Well, research people don’t have an easy-going in India!
This turns into a trauma during the Placement and Intern seasons in the colleges when you see all the CTCs, PPOs, PIOs, etc. I haven’t gone through the phase with my batchmates yet (and will probably not 🙈. Yes! I will sit in the intern season xD), so I can’t comment much about the pain!
Are my research hopes thrashed for good?
Well, this is a real disgrace (yes, that’s a hard word!) for the course administration at IITR, at least. So, for pursuing higher studies abroad after Bachelor’s, you gotta have a grade point above 9, or else you might not get admission to the best universities.
It is a shame that the course structure makes it too difficult to achieve. We are taught redundant topics during the semesters. It becomes pretty difficult to maintain the CG along with research activities during a semester.
Again for SDE peeps, the number is 8, I guess, which is also high but still not as difficult, in my opinion.
Now I have put forward most of the significant issues that I face or had faced during my journey so far. You may ask, “Why are you continuing your path on research then? You have experience as a developer as well. Why not develop?”
What boosts me up?
In this section, I will list out a few points that keep me motivated to research.
Warning: You might find some a little too much optimistic or even misleading 🙈
- The opportunity to make a difference: Researching hot AI topics allows me to develop techniques that might make people's lives easier and even better.
- Experiments are fun: It is not always a sad story to see the experiments fail. Sometimes, you discover the fascinating results out of nowhere.
- Uniqueness: This might be the most motivating factor for me. I didn’t want to do CP-like everyone else and revisit the JEE days running a race. Since I am no artist 🙈, research seems an excellent option to me :P
- Working with brilliant people: Working with professors allows me to work under superstars’ (that’s what my current supervisor prof calls them :P) guidance, responsible for many innovative solutions in the academic and industrial fields. Don’t take this the wrong way! I don’t mean that developers aren’t brilliant 😛.
- Visiting Foreign Countries: This has become a problematic option during this pandemic. I also have to work remotely and couldn’t get a chance to see the beautiful Eugene (University of Oregon). Although, I do hope that after things return to normal, it is pretty exciting to work abroad during your undergrads :P
- Conversation Skills: This might not be a substantial factor, but research experience has helped me improve my conversation skills. So, that’s a good thing as well.
Conclusion
Right, so throughout this entry, I described some of the problems undergraduate researchers face at the beginning in India (and more specifically at IITR, cause the institute doesn’t promote research on the same level as CP). The blog is solely based on my personal experience, and you might not relate well to it, which is perfectly alright :) Let me know about the disagreements and your experience!
Now in the future, it is highly probable that I would continue on the research path, but you never know what comes next!
You can learn more about me on my webpage.
