First Step Towards Reasearch

"Without commitment you will never start, but more importantly, without consistency you will never finish."

-Denzel Washington

Here, by research, I mean a master’s degree. My goals for the next few years consist of getting a master’s degree from a university in the US and then working in the industry on something that has an impact. I’ve always felt an air of confusion when it comes to doing research for a student in India. Even though it’s a popular option, it felt to me like wading through a swampy ground flooded with opaque water. I could only carefully feel, and then slowly place one step at a time, not knowing if there was any dry land along that direction. And there might just be something beneath me I’m not noticing.

I couldn’t find many people in my age group around me who had done hardcore research, so the technicalities of the process were always fuzzy; but I’m still grateful to have met some beautiful people along the way – seniors and professors – whose words gave me the courage to persist.

Through whatever it was that I did, I ended up with two very kind professors from IIT Bombay who believed I was competent enough to do a 9-month internship under them. This was the first tangible outcome of my efforts, and that made me happy. I thought: I can’t claim my methods to be the “best”, because “best” is relative. But I do know I worked really hard, and I must have done something right to gain a professor’s trust.

Also, if this path has helped me, then documenting it might also help someone else, even if it’s just a little bit. So the following are some of my opinions on how to go about something like this. I hope you find them helpful.

Whom to ask for help

I can’t stress this enough: Seniors and friends can be helpful, but professors can be more so. Think about it. There is absolutely no reason why you shouldn’t ask them for help, and there is absolutely no reason why they will deny helping you. In fact, from what I’ve observed, the professors want to help you. If you were a professor, wouldn’t you want to help a passionate student who is looking to improve?

How much work, what kind of work, the process, and for how long?

Professors don’t need savants, but rather students who have, before reaching out, already gone through the pain to learn or attempt something HARD on their own – something most people won’t even try. They appreciate the effort and patience that goes into it. It shows you’re not just another person.

In short, you need to do something that separates yourself from the crowd – and that can be done with a month or two of consistent effort if getting an internship of sorts is an urgent goal. If you have time, I suggest spending a lot of time – most of your time – studying, reading, and gaining knowledge.

The following are some things I’ve learned regarding the process:

1. Pick a domain you’re genuinely interested in so that putting in effort becomes a joy rather than a drag.
2. Commit 100% to the domain you’ve picked. For me, this was compiler design. I did a trial run of the rest of the month in my head, and promised myself to stick to this regardless of the obstacles; A lack of commitment causes confusion, anxiety, and a loss of direction. These are ingredients for stunted productivity.
3. Check out the websites of reputed universities and see which professors have a research interest that aligns with yours. Now note the following:
   • Does the professor have a personal web page of sorts?
   • If yes, have they mentioned anything about summer/winter undergraduate internships? A lot of professors who are looking for motivated undergrads usually explicitly mention this on their websites. For example: “For students who want to do a summer/winter internship under me….so and so”
   • Now check if in this note they have mentioned any prerequisites a student needs to have in order to do an internship under them.
   • This is a goldmine. Because now you know if you get these prerequisites done, there is no way in hell they will ignore your email if you send them one. But more importantly, given the reputation of the professor, these pointers can now be taken as general guidance on how to approach your domain. You now know how and where to start. That is a good first step! Note these prerequisites and the professor’s details.
4. Find resources for fulfilling these prerequisites as well. For example, a prerequisite might be “having worked with Linux”. In this case, figure out how you can install and start using Linux on your system.
5. Make a list of all such professors and any others you’re interested in interning under.

Note: If you have good knowledge of the subject already, skip the next two points.

6. Pick a good and well-reputed textbook for that subject. Ultimately books become almost necessary for a complete understanding of whatever you do. Even if you find a great lecture series from MITOCW for example, you will have to complement that with a reference book. Simply watching videos just won’t do. It’s a shortcut. You can’t keep going back to them in an efficient manner and bookmarking/keeping track of points is hard. Also, it lacks certain rigor.
7. Start reading theory from the book, and simultaneously ask the following questions:
   • Is there something I can build or make that allows me to apply the concepts I’m trying to learn?
   • Where is this stuff being used in real life? Where can I read about these real-life applications?
8. Depending on how theory-heavy the subject is, after knowing the basics, you might either try to build something practical or try to read other material like documentation, research papers, or survey papers. Here, refer to the list of professors you have made. You might try to read some of their work also. That will give you an edge in your email.
9. One more thing for those who are approaching something with a practical application (like compilers). I realized that since I will keep coming back to the text whenever I do build something, trying to understand the text 100% in the first read is neither efficient nor feasible. This is because I won’t know the right questions to ask. Certain points are simply understood better when you apply them. So coming back to them while building stuff will help you extract the right understanding from the text. In short, if you don’t understand something, don’t fret over it too much. Mark that passage and move on.

Writing Cold Emails.

Instead of sending hundreds of emails with a standard generic template (which, as you will see, will probably greatly reduce the chances of you getting a reply), I was aiming to send a few very good-quality emails tailored to those professors. I called them “warm” emails (Haha).

If you have a short email that simply states that you want to work with that person, there is nothing in that email that separates you from the rest of the crowd. Everyone has probably written the same thing and framed it in a similar (or potentially better) manner. If sending a badly framed email shows negative commitment, then sending a 2 liner with something cliché written in it doesn’t show positive commitment, it shows zero. And zero is not what we want.

So I’ll suggest including the following information in your email: (This is exactly what I put in my email)

• Make a list of concrete steps you’ve taken so far in fulfilling any prerequisites. Make them realize you have done your homework.
• If the prerequisites were mentioned on their website, I’ll suggest framing your message according to those exact bullet points.
• Make it clear the amount of time you can commit to their work. The best-case scenario would be where you say you’re committed enough to work for as long as it takes to do some helpful/impactful work. Professors like it when students don’t treat an internship as a one-way transfer of knowledge but rather aim to make an impact. Try to state the time frame explicitly (like “I am willing to commit 6 full months during so and so time…” for example).
• Do you have a place to live near the campus? If yes, mention that. If the internship is not through a program, the professor might not be able to give you accommodation.
• How can you help them? Reiterating a previous point, the professor guides you and helps you learn and in return, you help the professor in his/her research. The favor goes both ways. So explain why you’re an asset and not a liability.
• Ask a question or two. I’ll suggest include a question or two about the professor’s research domain or their paper if you’ve read it. If it’s from the paper that’s super cool. If not, that’s still okay. Just show them that you’re curious and want to know more!
• Be honest. Stating “I found your research very interesting” but not asking any relevant question that says absolutely nothing about you. People do it all the time just for the sake of the email. Instead, In my email I wrote “While I haven’t gotten to a point where I completely understand it, I’m consistently trying to make my way through it”. Isn’t a little show of honesty and commitment better than a generic statement?
• Check your grammar and spelling (you could use Grammarly or something else).
• Don’t make a mistake in the professor’s name. If the name of the professor is Dr. Keyur Parmar (for example), start your email with “Dear Dr. Parmar” instead of “Dear sir”. In short, greet them with their last name. “Sir” sounds too generic!! Show them right off the bat that this email is MEANT FOR THEM, and not a standard template you’ve sent to everyone.
• Try to be kind and considerate in your tone. Show them you care about their work, and that you are willing to adjust to any inconveniences that occur. Make it easy for them to consider you as an ideal intern, and show some commitment. This will be especially easy if you’re passionate about the subject.

Who cares about luck.

What happens if the professor doesn’t see the email? The question is valid, but fretting over it is futile. You don’t need to control your luck. That can’t happen. You just need to make sure that IF the person at the other end does end up having a look at your email, there is no chance in hell they will ignore it. Because people respect hard work and commitment. So even in the worst-case scenario that they reject you, they must feel obligated to do so explicitly instead of just ignoring the email. At least that is my opinion. This is why you must show some promise and separate yourself from the crowd.

I would love some feedback.

Whether you disagreed with something written here or resonated with it, I’ll encourage you to put your thoughts in the comments section. Your feedback and experience can help make this page a more valuable resource for someone looking for it. Have a great day ahead!