Postgraduate studies and research are complex endeavours

My life’s goal was not to become an engineer. I wished I could study something else, but I had to follow this route due to my circumstances. After completing my Master’s in Computer Science and Engineering from the University of Calcutta, I decided that I would rather become a teacher. I became a lecturer at Seacom Engineering College, which is close to my house, but it was clear that, in the long run, my teaching career would necessitate a Ph.D. I then started looking for a professor at Calcutta University to serve as my mentor. I spoke with a professor who was eager to accept me as his Ph.D. student and gave me a few topics to research. I used to go to him after spending a lot of time studying, pleading with him to give me more work. But I was instructed to write a book rather than conduct research. I believed that might be how one acquires knowledge and develops clear concepts. I began reading books and other resources on the subject of the book I was supposed to write. I completed three chapters, which amounted to about a year of study time. I later met with him to show him my writing. Without addressing my research, he encouraged me to write more effectively since he didn’t like the presentation. I gave up out of frustration and began looking for a new supervisor at a different university.

I soon met a professor from another university that I was already familiar with. Instead of giving me any work, he instructed me to select an image processing topic. I decided on one and got to work. I consulted him after roughly four to five months of study; however, he didn’t offer any guidance for my research. He didn’t take my work seriously and was quite reticent to talk about research. I began working alone, adhering to the published papers, but I was unable to produce quality work. I anticipated that he would instruct me on how to conduct research, write a report, etc. I really needed a clear direction for my work.  As a result of the lack of guidance, I fell behind by over four and a half years, going without a single noteworthy publication. I wasn’t enrolled in his university, either. I was disappointed and chose not to work with him any longer.

I then obtained employment with the government as an assistant professor at a university. I was eager to seem a passionate educator at the time. At Aliah University, I ran into a former colleague who was an associate professor there. I came to understand what I was looking for in a supervisor after talking to him. Since he had previously encountered circumstances like I had, he was extremely excited and pragmatic. After working for three years in the field of document image processing, I published more than 15 papers in addition to a few SCI/SCIE and Scopus publications. I have also experienced numerous pointless paper rejections.

Life is rarely a smooth curve, especially when it comes to research, which is a complex endeavour. There are a lot of highs and lows. Success in research requires tenacity, patience, and luck, of course.