You decided to study abroad, but don't you know how to start? Part I- Deciphering ‘What and Why'

 

Would you like to hear the content?

---

Hello everyone! Happy New Year!!! 👋

Brings you joy, success, and numerous achievements. As for me, I'm excited about the prospect of achieving my goals in pursuing my PhD abroad.

I apologize for the delay, I am not on vacation, quite the opposite. This month of January I am making applications, and this takes a lot of my time. 

I want to start this post by telling you, that I don't have a network out there, so why did I decide to make a Ph.D. abroad? Well, my answer wouldn't fit in this post! But I will make a post about this to inspire you, haha. 

Back to the subject, a postgraduation abroad will take a lot of your time, and has no escape, and if you are learning English and studying for the proficiency test your time will be tight. 

I have a partner ( my husband), and he is helping me a lot. He is fluent in English, so I strongly recommend a partner for this journey, but if you don't have one, don't worry, I am here to help you. My blog is dedicated to providing assistance because I understand that opportunities can be different and not always fair.

 You can contact me (my email: samaracr.rocha@gmail.com), and you can be sure, I will answer you (in English or Portuguese, you can decide). 

 I decided to do this post to make your journey easier. I know just like me, it is a dream that sometimes we think is difficult to reach. If that is important to you, please do not give up, if you love the research and have willpower, you have a chance, because as I like to say: no you already have, Let's go in search of yes.

So let's go with my tips!

What area do I want and why?

The initial phase was challenging for me as I struggled to grasp the significance of choosing an area that couldn't be overly specific yet not too broad. I realized that it's essential to ask yourself specific questions to select a field that strikes the right balance to more easily find a program and supervisor.

As how you can see bellow, the universities have programs, in these programs have areas (reserch themes), and in these areas, normally have reserch groups where you find supervisors with an interest in specific themes and are working on specific projects.

    Example:

Before starting your search for the universities, you need answer the questions below, to later address the main question “Which area do I want and why?”

• What is my objective in life?

         I want to do research, want to help people, animals, and all life types. I want to understand                     microorganisms' functions and go to space. I want to gain a lot of money, I don't know... think                  about that.

        For this question I thought about my childhood, I wanted to be a scientist and I always loved                 science and animals, this is included in my life objective.

• Why do I want to do a PhD?

        This would help me be a better researcher.

        I want to enlarge my contact network.

        This would enlarge my opportunities for jobs.   (...)

• What did I do in my academic life?

        Think about your undergree, in your master's degree ( if you did), in your conquests, in what you             like to do, in the techniques that you more domain. 

        To help me I read my curriculum, my articles, and my thesis...I thought about in the that I had                 more experience. 

• What do you like to do? 

        At this moment don't get attached just to what you did specifically, but think about the range of            opportunities these experiences can give to you.

        

        At first, I reflected on my past experiences. I had worked with goats and sheep, delving into                   viruses and employing molecular and serological techniques, all because I genuinely enjoyed it. 

       However, this initial focus on a very specific area became a hindrance, and I found myself                       struggling to locate suitable opportunities. That's when I decided to change my strategy.

       Hence, I thought: I know to work with molecular and serological techniques, animal, culture cells,        etc, and I like this very much, hence I thought about what field and what type of research this fits,           this way stay easier.  

       You can start by aligning your interests with some fields of study:

            Exact and Earth Sciences?

            Biological Sciences?

            Engineering?

            Health Sciences?

            Agricultural Sciences?

            Linguistics, Letters, and Arts?

            Applied Social Sciences?

            Human Sciences?

        These websites lists the various areas within the field of study:

        ttp://fisio.icb.usp.br:4882/posgraduacao/bolsas/capesproex_bolsas/tabela_areas.html  (Portuguese         language) 

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_academic_fields#/media/File:Disciplines_mind_map.jpg             (English language)

        Now, remember that the area you choose should not be too specific or too broad. As you                       explore, try to align the topics of potential supervisors that best fit with your area and the                        questions answered.

        After I chose some areas, for example: biological science, Health Sciences, and veterinary science         (how you see you do not need to choose just one field but choose fields that possibly have areas             with supervisors that have themes that you like to work with).

        In my first contact with a supervisor abroad that fit with my objectives, I talked about what I like            to work, and my experiences, but I left it open for another topic because I knew that his proposal            wouldn't be too far from what I want, we can't miss a good opportunity.

        

Next post :  "Part II- Deciphering 'How'.

    

    Have a good week, and stay focused! bye bye 😄