We are you...

We are you ten years back, embarking on an exciting new chapter of our lives, excited, confident jubilant and on the top of the world ready to get on the flight and own the new world. And why not, the time has finally come and the long hard years of toil and perseverance to get to the promised land is finally over. Or is it? Not quite. In the euphoria and whirlwind that ensues once you receive your I-20s, the critical shift of focus to your settlement in this new land with a new culture, academic rules, climatic conditions, and challenges is either not thought carefully enough or gets diluted. You may have even travelled to the US as a tourist many a time, but nothing can prepare you for this new adventure of integrating and settling with this new world. From understanding the transport system, to safety precautions, to access to healthy food to extreme weather conditions to the critical dos and the don’ts hits you hard without a support system of friends, family or a flexible “jugaad” system like it exits in our own country. These deficit keeps growing slowly and piles on until it starts affecting our wellbeing and our studies. For the lucky few who has family or friends, you certainly have a better start than your peers. Congratulations.

We are you, well into your first semester and your first tryst with the winter. Oh! beautiful snow. But you soon realize, after making the snow fairies and taking selfies there is that walk back home. Your phone reads -10 deg C. These clothes just do no work. Need to get something warmer. You still need to have dinner and prepare for the exam day after. Will make do with “Maggi” for now but wait, I have been eating “Maggi” for the past 5 days. Eating out…. can’t do that either every day on that stipend. Wish I had a blueprint to all this and someone to give me a heads up when I landed here. What with all those people ahead of me?

We are you, into the 6th lab rotation yet to figure out if I really like what I did in those labs. How should I choose? The best mentor or the most promising research. How do I grade either one of that? What suits my temperament versus what helps my future? How do I navigate through this? Wish I had an unbiased mentor who could help me dissect things and help me make this critical decision that will dictate my career…

We are you in the 3rd year in a lab that seemed promising at the onset, but I do not have a good relationship with my P.I and don’t see myself working here for 3 more years. What are my alternatives? Do I move to another lab... another university? How do I handle the visa status? Talking to anyone around is risky and a transfer to another lab in the same department could be acrimonious as my P.I is influential. Wish I had a mentor who could help me see the light at the end of the tunnel…

We are you in the final years of your Ph.D., trying to navigate through administrative and academic potholes. How many papers do I need to get into a good post-doctoral program? Do I have enough? How do I time my exit? What types of labs do I write to for my post doc. Should I extend my work or pivot to a related but new direction? Do I apply to the industry? What do I need for that?