Real Worth of Ph. D.

Real Worth of Ph. D.

Many of my previous generation and my generation PhD holders worked very hard to get that coveted degree. Almost, yes almost, they did every thing a gurukul student could do. Don't laugh it is a fact.

It was of my interest, hence, I had to visit 3000 organisations around the world to keep my finding accurate and to make it full of greater impact. In short it was on how to manufacture cars cheaper in India that too using Indian talent, technology and resources. No need to say, the crux of PhD was how to manufacture a car cheapest in world, in India using Indian Talent and Technologies. My external examiners asked me in and out and I was able to tell them with details as I devoted 24 X 7 X 15 years to this project. It was real joy in doing such projects of national and international importance. The reason behind it is, everybody knows that the country which can manufacture car technologies indigenously can within few years manufacture space age technologies. As Car technologies forms the basis of all those technologies.

In another case, Mother of one of my friends pursued PhD on topic, "Generation of Surnames in Maharashtra", my god, she went on to search whopping 150,000 Surnames. Above all she went on to pursue M. Phil. before her Ph.D. that too for two years. One of my friends went on to pursue classification of trees in Nagpur region, other friend in Pune region, other in Mumbai region. One of the Zoologist went to find the most abundant and the rarest species in the Jungle near Nagpur, named Navegao Bandh.

One of the Engineer, Scientists in top technological institute went on to develop an algorithm of computer and his project, which was Ph.D. Thesis as well, was just 22 pages. Naturally his evaluators asked him first question, "Only 22 pages?" One said, "My thesis was 1200 pages", other said, "Mine was 523 pages", other said, "Mine was Almost 700 pages", etc. Man, these 22 pages were so powerful, that, on each paragraph, each model, each architecture he explained them for one hour each on how it works and he show them with practical application and got his Ph.D. Hope you know all of these PhD seekers were passionate, devoted, focused and it was their mission of life and they devoted their 24 X 7 X almost 5 years for that project, for the betterment of human kind. They systematically bring out the solution on certain problem or at least put forth the details on the topic or bring out some problem and its details, so that the problem could be realized and tackled by the next generations. They follow certain methodology for studies and research, and put it in language either understood by experts of by the common man. It seems easy if you are passionate to study, work, experiment, analyze result test it again, check it practically, again refer, check back, ask seniors, write in proper format, again find out mistakes and errors, then again correct it, and then finalize it. Page by page, line by line word by word.

To tell you few, I know at least 5000 friends around the world and their hard work and topics. To add spice, I must tell you there are 120,000 aspirant Registered for PhD in China and USA in 2007, in USA, but in India the number on the same year was only/ just 5000, where as our requirement is, far too high. Just refer URL: http://nmcc.nic.in/pdf/business_line_30apr2007.pdf . Ph. D. lets you know the unlimited possibilities in human life and limitations of human lives. You come to know in and out about everything you do. Sometimes many have bad feelings about the world. However, one who completes it, realizes that one could not have known the world from this much near, in breadth and depth, till he pursued the Ph. D. It's as if pursuing Ph.D. in life if you do it seriously with you soul + heart + brain + hard work + steam + coolness out. If you pursue it as a Professional Degree, you get professional experience/s combined with some life's experiences. Hence, by all means it is worth a degree. There is one experience worth sharing. Once, I wrote in my Ph.D. Thesis,..... Government of India should do this and that..... My Guide laughed at me. He said, "So you are adviser to Government of India, what is your age? Your P.M. and Finance Minster has experience of you age."Then as if some thing clicked in his mind he said, "Today, I am not well, as you know I'm suffering from high fever since 3 days and nobody is at home all have gone on Diwali holidays. Can you help me in finding some one who can pay my Electricity Monthly Bill?" In Maharashtra, there are few people who collect electric bills and cheques and pay to MSEB billing office and they it paid for this professional work. Still, I said, "Sir, I'll do it as today is the last day may be then next time onward you take professional help". I went to Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB) billing office, just 500 meters away, and paid, got receipt, and came back. Then my PhD co-guide said, "Can you build that power station, which provides electricity at every house in our locality" I said, "No." He said, "Still you are advising Government of India, who takes care of one billion people." Then he laughed at me and directed me to make corrections. Thus, directly he never used "Me" or "You" or "Government" but used ONE has to do this or that or he just quoted examples like above. Such classical examples and anecdotes add value to your PhD. That is why, Ph.D. is worth a degree. You know systems, procedures, people, "duniyadari" (meaning the way the world moves/ works). To talk about PhD in Management, India needs at least 10000 PhD and implementation to make it Super Power in every respect at all the level. Take example, right now there is Credit Crisis around the world, how should India face this, could be one topic of PhD with varied sub topics. The PhD is an solution over the focused problem. Similarly how to manage business in political uncertainty could be other topic. To tell you few, in Computer Science the biggest problem faced is of Security and Privacy issue over the Internet. There is threat from Virus, from this and that bug, etc. On each threat there could be one or multiple methods and each method is a PhD topic. In Biotechnology, you tell me and there is topic on every issue. You can modify systems, procedures, and capacities of so many things and aspects that I cannot put in one sentence over here. Take example there are at least a million species in the world. To focus on human being there are 206 bones, a trillion cells, there is Central Nervous System, Artillery system, there is this and that in each there is a system, in each cell of our body there is system. You can pursue PhD to modify its function, or enhance its capacity, you can modify genome sequence you can modify a chromosome, you can modify a gene, ......unlimited possibilities. If one of the system each is taken as an inspiration for Management model then you could have developed a billion to trillion successful models. Thus, infinite possibilities are waiting for human beings but,... less people are interested in tapping those opportunities. One comes to know these things only after PhD, as in PhD you try to reach depth of everything you know.

Hence, I say it is a Great worth. Life's experience.

coming more.

Dr. Ashish Manohar Urkude,
ashish.urkude@gmail.com