No PhD

So no PhD now. I gave my interview on the 8th of March and I came to know today that I have not been offered an admit.

I am disappointed that PhD will not happen but the disappointment is not too intense. First of all , while at the interview I came to know that PhD now takes 5-6 years to complete. I was quite disappointed to know that. Simply because then I would be locked in London for a very long period of time. Right now, Sid and I plan to stay in London for not more than 3 more years, head back to India after that and start working there.

It is possible to extend our stay in London to 4 years but 5 years with a high possibility of it turning to 6 years is just too much.

The experience of the interview itself was fantastic. I was interviewed non stop for some 8 hours straight with just 5-6 minutes for myself and I felt as I was walking back home that that experience was enough to make up for the work put in for PhD. I got an opportunity to speak to some of the top professors in the Marketing field in the world. It was an opportunity I was thankful for. I got a chance to bounce ideas off them and though I do not have an admit, some of them had really nice things to say about my proposal.

At the same time, while at my interview, I did not feel excited about the work I would be doing as PhD student. The same problem to be dealt with for the next 6 years was a concept too much to handle.

My other problem was with the amount of money. The stipend itself is quite less and stays the same year after year. So though a job I might get right now might not pay me a gloriously high amount here in London, I can hope and work for a raise.

The other unfortunate bit is that once done with a PhD you become over qualified for all the high paying jobs around.

So, in short you get into this line if and only if you are getting into it for the love of studying and teaching and are okay with a low salary and the kind of life it brings along with it.

I don’t know whether I would have accepted the offer had I got one but I know it would have been a tough decision because it is not every day that you get a course offer from the No 1 B school in the world.

In conclusion, I know I did my best, I really cannot think of anything more I could have done to improve my chances. I am a little sad cos I tried my hand at something, came very close to getting it and then did not, but it was a good ride. I will know for the rest of my life that I gave it my best try and I will also now know that I might not have been such a great fan of an academic career either.
Corporate ! Here I come !