Introduction to this field was through maths as control theory is more theoretical. In third year I did a SoP in maths under Dr. Amit Setia in Goa Campus that dealt with control of population-scale processes (such as optimal planning of vaccination drives). Afterwards, I did another SoP in EEE under Dr. Nitin Sharma. So, this experience got me involved in control theory and helped me get an internship at IISc. These SoP’s gave me a lot of insights and were responsible for developing my interests in Control theory. I also explored the other part of EEE which dealt with circuits and electronic devices but it didn’t interest me. So, I decided not to go for device electronics.

Do fun individual projects like raspberry pi based robots, signal processing code for auto tuning your voice to a song, etc and go out and actively seek for SoP’s under professors. For me, participating in some competitions in our techfest (Quark) really gave me a good idea of which fields in EEE I wanted to pursue.

Try to do individual projects, meet new people and keep improving. Most intuitive way of getting into control is robotics but keep exploring other fields like population dynamics, disease control, tuning of analogue devices etc. So start with something intuitive on your own and then keep questioning yourself as to how you can make it better and the theory of control will present itself as the solution. Also, if you’re from the circuit branches, try to get a good understanding of concepts in the Control Systems and Signals & Systems courses. Take associated electives. Another good idea is to come up with a question which can be seen as a control problem, and try to pitch it for a SoP (I did it for my math SoP). Traditionally the circuit branches and mathematics department used to study control problems, but these days it is also being adopted by biology (e.g. optimal dosage of medicine to ‘control’ a disease in your body) and economics (e.g. optimal injection of financial stimulus by government to ‘control’ the recovery of economy post-COVID). Mechanical and chemical engineering departments also study control, but it is usually less theoretical and more applied. For example, the mechanical engineer might be interested in stability and control of airplanes and spacecraft, while the chemical engineer might want to control yield rates of a product in a reactor.

Firstly, you should have some research experience so that you know what you are doing. If the field is very theoretical then ask yourself if you will be able to be committed enough to pursue 5 years of research in this field. Secondly, if the field is of engineering then try to ensure that the field is generalized enough that you are in demand for industrial work. Skills are generalizable in an engineering domain and can be used in the industry, if you don’t want to continue in academia.

I listed 20 professors out of which 4 or 5 responded and then chose IISc. Do some degree of due diligence before applying. Check out the professor's website and check if he/she is even accepting interns or not. Spend some time analysing their work and whether you want to work with that professor or not. If you curate your list this way, I’m sure that 4 or 5 responses from 30 mails is possible.

In IISc, I worked on a problem in control theory which led to a journal paper publication. First two months were very challenging as in IISc as it was more theoretically rigorous than BITS which is more focussed on the practical skill-based approach required to ace placements. My professors had time for me and my lab colleagues were also supportive. To get acquainted with the rigorous atmosphere of IISc, I used to read books, complete online courses from Stanford, UCLA, etc.

I decided I wanted to pursue research in the US first of all and then searched for professors there. I sent these professors an email before applying for PhDs and seeing their responses, I got some indication of whether they had a vacancy and whether I would be a good fit. Then I applied to 6 colleges and got 3 positive confirmations and proceeded accordingly.

For masters, you have to pay the university but for a Ph.D., the university pays you. Also, I was aware of my strengths and weaknesses. I was confident that with the right amount of research and effort, writing a paper in a journal isn’t impossible. So, these factors convinced me that a Ph.D. is the way to go. Ph.Ds in engineering fields are readily accepted in the industry as opposed to research in sciences which is more inclined towards academia.

I felt like that when I started in IISc as it was a sudden change in environment from skill development to rigor research. But with practice and effort, this feeling fades away.

Start small initially and then gradually step up and look for SoPs, internships and try to make most of it by doing due diligence. After all these experiences, you will be in a better position and will be able to make an informed decision. Don’t hesitate to upskill from non-college sources like online courses, etc. In today’s internet-connected world, a vast amount of information is at your fingertips. It remains up to you to use these resources and information to shape your future professional career. Reach out to seniors to ask for advice, and collect as much advice as possible from people who have “been there, done that”. Whenever you start something new, impostor’s syndrome (“am I good enough?”) is common - train yourself to ignore it and work hard towards your goals. And lastly, follow your passion - but only after you’ve done due diligence on whether that passion can keep you engaged for a lifetime.

I am glad to have the opportunity to carry out doctoral research, so I do not have any regrets per se. However, I feel that I could have worked a bit more on my CGPA (7.x at graduation). I also feel that I did not adequately contact my seniors for advice before submitting my PhD applications, and therefore I ended up applying to a few places which, in retrospect, seemed too difficult to get with my profile.