The
discussion of Joseph Beck highlighted the theme of do not be scared for the
Graduate school opportunity. He cited positive and negative points of studying
in a graduate school particularly WPI and those points seemed valid. The
introduction is followed by the descriptions of students who would be suited in
pursuing a graduate degree in WPI or in the United States in general. The
descriptions include students who are scientific and students who want to test
ideas to solve problems on their own. He then described the life of a graduate
student in the US. He then mentioned the cost then discouraged paying the
tuition.
Afterwards,
the speaker focused on scenarios of being a graduate student in his
institution. Moreover, also stated that a graduate degree can take up to 7
years on average where 2-3 years are spent on coursework with research as well
as finding a dissertation problem. However, there is flexibility in schedules. Eventually,
the discussion informed about life as a person working on a problem and a
person being part of the community in their campus. Graduate students can work
on laboratories to work for their departments and advisors. Furthermore, he
highlighted the importance of the relationship of the student and the advisor.
Advisors have variation of styles in directing research one can be hands-on
while another can be distant.
The
speaker also discussed the funding from assistantships. He described the
Teacher Assistantship and the Research assistantship. Both cover the tuition
with a pay that is livable. The works done while living of those assistantships
are different. One requires the scholar to help teach undergraduates while the
other requires one to assist in research for a faculty’s research. It was
encouraged to try applying for these assistantships. Obtaining the
assistantship requires impressiveness in writing letters. There must be effort
in writing the letter and it was recommended to not make the letter seem
generic. The research assistantship will require a letter that also indicates
interest in current research work. The teaching assistantship requires
impressing faculty with achievements and credentials. One way to impress is to
show initiatives even in letters to be sent.
The
speaker then focused on post-graduation life where the graduates can be post
doc or researchers. Another possible position involves faculty. He then
iterated that it takes years to have tenure in the US even after having a PhD.
Afterwards he then cited reasons to study in WPI and what the institution is
looking for. He cited good faculty, students and good employment opportunities.
He also explained reasons to study in the US. Reason included networking with
others, diverse research perspectives. He then concluded with degree offers of
his institution.
I
noticed the discussion was focused on student life there and what happens. The
works their seemed appealing since they arouse my curiosity. I was so curious
about what I can do while I am there that I did not think about the place
itself. I did have an idea on what I can do but I have a blurry idea on what
the place is like. I was disappointed that I did not see more pictures of the
campus or its landmarks. I also wanted to see more of the laboratories they
have. Though I think stuff there changes, I wanted to have a clearer visual
idea of what is inside.
The
research work aiming to rank educational content on search seemed redundant to
Google’s page rank but it has its own value since it tries to find the most
effective pages for educating the users. It seems to be a good project for
people who need to learn. I imagine myself using it to learn new programming
languages or studying new algorithms or any other complicated concept. Then I
got curious on what would the average rank of Wikipedia be based effective
educational articles. The researched piqued me enough to consider spending
years in that institution. I reflected that they work on serious problems as
graduate students should. I also pondered on how those things are done and
thought of whether others who attended find it interesting as well.
I
also then wondered if it is possible to rank web pages based on user
preferences. I got the idea since people vary in learning preferences. I only
think that is possible if the users are tested or inquired to notify their
preferences. Then the system can arrange the results based on a dataset that
indicates an effectiveness value for a certain generic preference that matches
the user’s preference the most. Afterwards, I realized how the topic aroused me
which made me think that if I really find joy in research that contributes to the
world.
The
speaker was able to convince me that there are worthwhile graduate study
opportunities in the US since there seems to be a lot of opportunities to learn
and innovate there. I think of such since he was able to mention their
government funds research across many research centers in the country which I
hear in the news. The tuition is deal breaker but the assistantship offers seem
adequate. I liked how English proficiency was emphasized as a criterion for
assistantship since I thought it would be something like credentials or
technical competency given focus in getting assistance. As for lifestyle and
usual scenarios, I feel like I would not mind to live their given the description
he gave as a beneficiary of the assistantship. I am willing to adjust on the
demands as long as I find meaning in what I do and the work there seems to have
value.
The
post graduate life does not appeal to me much. I was hoping for other
opportunities but I thought maybe that there are unmentioned opportunities with
those degrees. I just need to research on them. I also may need to research on
what people do after they get high degrees to imagine myself if I take that
path. Moving on, the tenure mentioned takes a long time to earn but I actually
think that it is true. It just thought me on how demanding tenure can be.
One
important lesson is that I should not be afraid to try studying abroad. It is
difficult but people will help and being dedicated will help get through the
challenges somehow. As I reflect, the talk only made me consider studying
abroad for graduate studies. I am even still conflicted whether to study
further or not since part of me wants to work while another wants to learn more
and produce solutions that impact people’s lives. I will decide sooner or later
but the discussion was able to have clearer options on what happens if I choose
to pursue a graduate degree particularly in WPI. I am actually thankful for the
discussion especially the parts that mentions on who the graduate programs are
for.
