From being a Software engineer to Ph D in Astrophysics/Cosmology
Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2017 1:31 am
Hello folks,
This is my first post and all your thoughts and suggestions are very much required. Please don't ignore. Firstly, I would talk a bit about my background :
1. B. Tech in Information Technology from an esteemed University in India. (One of the NITs) with 3.98 GPA (as per US evaluation)
2. MS in MIS from the University of Arizona in Tucson, 3.5 GPA
3. Around 10 years of strong software development experience in the Industry.
4. While pursuing MS in MIS, I used to work as a research assistant with a professor and because of the nature of my work I have co-authored in three publications that have been cited at many places.
5. Had Engineering Physics in undergrad along with three courses on engineering math and numerical methods spanning first three semesters.
6. 88/100 in Physics and 96/100 in Math in CBSE Board exams (HIgh school grad exam in India)
Space science/ Cosmology has always been of great interest to me and I strongly feel I should go to academia and get a Ph.D. and get involved in research henceforth. I have closely followed lectures on Coursera/Udemy and also looked at few course videos (MIT) for a long time, attended multiple lecture/programs organized by NASA in the San Francisco Bay Area (where I am currently). The software industry job is lucrative but not something that I find greatly attracted to or intellectually stimulating. Also, I have found that my background in software will help me as a majority of the research in Cosmology is in the analysis of huge data sets and finding interesting trends. It may sometime revolve around writing own algorithms or software models to interpret certain data findings.
With the above premise, I am preparing for the GRE physics as I see it is required in most of the schools I have seen. I have the following questions:
1. I don't have a background in Physics, how do I establish in my SOP or resume, how worthwhile it is for my passion and interest to start a career related to Astrophysics/Cosmology/Astronomy?
2. Given, I already have an MS, and also 6 years of work experience in the US, do you think schools can waive of the GRE general/TOEFL requirement?
3. I see that the GRE Physics prep book is priced at $500 on Amazon, what is the best way to start refreshing the basics before even looking at the GRE test papers?
4. I could get few professional and academic letters of recommendation, but naturally, they can only talk about my work ethics and judge me as a student and they cant speak about any background in Physics. Will this hold any good?
5. If I decide to apply in the fall of 2018 (for a program commencing in Fall 2019), I have two years. What could I do in these two years to earn credits (which I could later encash for pre-requisites and get them waived, as I dont have a physics background)?
Looking forward to your responses.
Thanks,
Partha
This is my first post and all your thoughts and suggestions are very much required. Please don't ignore. Firstly, I would talk a bit about my background :
1. B. Tech in Information Technology from an esteemed University in India. (One of the NITs) with 3.98 GPA (as per US evaluation)
2. MS in MIS from the University of Arizona in Tucson, 3.5 GPA
3. Around 10 years of strong software development experience in the Industry.
4. While pursuing MS in MIS, I used to work as a research assistant with a professor and because of the nature of my work I have co-authored in three publications that have been cited at many places.
5. Had Engineering Physics in undergrad along with three courses on engineering math and numerical methods spanning first three semesters.
6. 88/100 in Physics and 96/100 in Math in CBSE Board exams (HIgh school grad exam in India)
Space science/ Cosmology has always been of great interest to me and I strongly feel I should go to academia and get a Ph.D. and get involved in research henceforth. I have closely followed lectures on Coursera/Udemy and also looked at few course videos (MIT) for a long time, attended multiple lecture/programs organized by NASA in the San Francisco Bay Area (where I am currently). The software industry job is lucrative but not something that I find greatly attracted to or intellectually stimulating. Also, I have found that my background in software will help me as a majority of the research in Cosmology is in the analysis of huge data sets and finding interesting trends. It may sometime revolve around writing own algorithms or software models to interpret certain data findings.
With the above premise, I am preparing for the GRE physics as I see it is required in most of the schools I have seen. I have the following questions:
1. I don't have a background in Physics, how do I establish in my SOP or resume, how worthwhile it is for my passion and interest to start a career related to Astrophysics/Cosmology/Astronomy?
2. Given, I already have an MS, and also 6 years of work experience in the US, do you think schools can waive of the GRE general/TOEFL requirement?
3. I see that the GRE Physics prep book is priced at $500 on Amazon, what is the best way to start refreshing the basics before even looking at the GRE test papers?
4. I could get few professional and academic letters of recommendation, but naturally, they can only talk about my work ethics and judge me as a student and they cant speak about any background in Physics. Will this hold any good?
5. If I decide to apply in the fall of 2018 (for a program commencing in Fall 2019), I have two years. What could I do in these two years to earn credits (which I could later encash for pre-requisites and get them waived, as I dont have a physics background)?
Looking forward to your responses.
Thanks,
Partha