Higher studies need info. on PhD???

[Lakshmipathi]

i completed my master degree in computer science 2 years back.now i would know about phD
...now working in an org. i can't leave my job .
What's things i should consider to do a phD.
I'm interest in research activities...i would like to do phD in file systems.I'm from india.
which university should i choose?
what's is guideline for completing phD?how long it will take?
Thanks

[Cabhan]

My understanding, after having talked with some PhD students at my university, is that a PhD changes what you do in computer science. A Bachelor's or Master's has you mostly doing educated codework, but a PhD puts you pretty squarely into research and very theoretical work. Most PhDs tend to work at companies doing that sort of thing, or in academia.

The PhD program at my university is somewhere from 5-7 years, from my understanding. One student was telling me that he took classes for 2 years, spent 2 years figuring out what he was going to write his thesis on, and is now actually working on it.

I don't know how easy it is to work and pursue a PhD simultaneously.

Not being a PhD student myself (hell, I'm pursuing my Bachelor's right now), I know very little about the details, or where to do it. I mean, American schools like MIT and Carnegie Mellon are obviously very well known for their PhD programs, but there are obviously many, many more.

[Lakshmipathi]

thanks you cabhan...i got few more questions,
is there any distance education of PhD provided by universites like mit?
am i need to take test like GMAT or GRE for distance education too?
how much fee it may take to do a PhD.
Thanks.

[daacosta]

If I were you I would not consider pursuing a Ph.D. via mail or the Internet. I have a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering and I would not have done it by correspondence... It is just too serious a matter...

[Lakshmipathi]

If I were you I would not consider pursuing a Ph.D. via mail or the Internet. I have a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering and I would not have done it by correspondence... It is just too serious a matter...

...yes few of my friends also said this to me...so i changed my mind..i would do it as part time course here in india itself.the major reason why i want to pursue a PhD via mail or internet is the area i'm choosing it's file system -i think there is rarely few people
interested in PhD in File system related stuff...i'm also not sure to get guide for PhD...
hmmmm...the basic reason why i want to do PhD is, to learn about file system ...
i guess i may drop the idea of doing PhD itself,if i'm not going to get guide...

[apoorv_khurasia]

I was myself trying for a PhD after I graduated (Bachelor). Here are my personal views...(and I dont know how accurate are they but they are the result of many discussions with my institute alumni, batch mates and faculty)

Research in India: Only a few institutes are doing some serious research. TIFR has some good expertise in algorithms (as per my knowledge), IIScs are doing good in hardware and networking (again as per my knowledge). The institute I graduated from (IITD) is very strong in algorithms and theory (people like S.N. Maheshwari, S Arun Kumar, Naveen Garg, Amit Kumar, Sandeep Sen etc are on board). Other IITs are also doing good research (esp. Kanpur and Mumbai)....you can apply here too.

Abroad
1. US: CMU, Winsconsin-Mad, UT-Austin, UWash, NYU, Princeton
2. Germany: MPIs
3. France: INRIA (Network, electonics)
are some of the excellent institutes but getting scholorship here would be difficult. GRE is not compulsory but it is always benefitial to take this exam. Most of the univs also stress on TOEFL. A subject GRE in computer science can help (but usually univs dont give much thought to it). GMAT is not required at all (it is related with management programs). I can give you details on what these univs are good at (as in departments) if you ask. I think US people on the forum can guide you even better.

Many univs also look at your grade point average (earned during your bachelor and master degrees), past research work (viz. papers etc) and your project work. A good knowledge of professional (paper level) English is a must (although not officially mentioned). For more details e-mail me (use the forums private message service).

Edit: A contact of mine mentioned me that UWash is good at systems.