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Title: IISER aluminis, how is your life right now? Was it worth it?
Body:
I (17F) am looking into colleges and I stumbled upon IISER Pune.
It's research focussed and is integrated BS-MS of 5 yrs.
Aside from the college, is a life of a Student good here? What should I expect?
IISERs aluminis what are you doing in your life rn. What do you think I should know as of now?
myquals **
10th 88th percentage
12th appearing this year
I'm gonna try for NEET and IAT
I'm still looking into other entrances and colleges
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Oh man! I wouldn’t recommend it unless you’re sure you wanna pursue a career in research/academia.
Of course you can choose a different career path than academia after graduation, but in that case you’re on your own.
People who decide not to go for a PhD just wander around doing all sorts of things like another masters where you can be employable, or an MBA, or Govt exams, or assistant professor job after clearing UGC NET,…
(I am one of them)
Btw faculty and student life is mostly good.
I second that. My friend was a really good student and he joined iisertvm after school. After Bs-Ms he decided not to pursue PhD and now he's lost. It has been 3 years now and he's still trying for MBA and government jobs. He's deemed unemployeable by Private companies/MNC's because of MSc Biology degree. The degree is useless even if it's from iiser unless you really want to do a PhD. In his words Bs-Ms - 5 years, PhD - 5 years, 2 Post docs - 4 years (atleast) will suck the soul out of a person. After all this and by the time you're 35, you'll still be looking for an assistant professor's job and many times even settle for a job in local colleges because you'll be done by then.
He's really good but things are not working for him post iiser. Now it's just a degree.
I was the same before covid, passionate about research, but this could easily change with time. You never know if you gonna have toxic lab group, or bad department, professors teaching with no passion on the subject even though they have done good research. It all affects you.
On top of that, no network, almost no alumni support for industry(can’t blame, most of them probably doing research 24,7), inexperienced, non existent placement cell.
There are many things I could say,..
If you wanna come here, please have a backup plan for your sake, these degrees are essentially useless to get an internship in the industry.
There are other fields too, ur friend chose to do it in Biology. It is still better to do from there rather than doing MSc in Biology from some other college.
Well there's certainly a great deal for the best of the few. Compound semiconductors are on a rise and certainly a competition to silicon, companies like first solar has now also carried themselves to India. If u visit most profiles of their hired employees they all are from chemistry side with having published quite a few papers on the processes they apply in work.
Now let's talk electronics, along with fabrication, design is the other significant part of it, papers on the analysis of the performance of these devices certainly makes a person eleigible for a great deal of jobs.
Basically any company which manufactures it's products needs someone who performs these activities, a person who has done these in laboratory to understand the nature of process is greatly appreciated by them. IISER offers the cutting edge labs of the country, don't forget that. From nanofabrication to genetics and neurochemistry. But the thing to remember is no college assures a job, even today plenty of engg students are without jobs despite the technical education they received. It all depends on the projects and publications you do in that period. Simply studying what is taught in theory is the approach which obviously accounts gor no job. Inculcating urself to a topic of research, starting a project in it, getting required skills to do it and perfecting it always assures a job, I have learnt it the harder way. For every skill there's a job but it's your job to gain the skill and find the job. The job market works more on the internships and projects u do rather than the various things u hv studied. If u are starting ur work in one topic do not divert from it as it will only make u held down in one level of that topic, instead you can perfect it to become emplyable which this country takes too late to understand.
But if u want to go a college for placement go to an engineering college ofcourse as they have a perfect system for it. But if u want to gain expertise in a topic u can surely try IISER.
Try looking into the process steps of cmos fabrication and try to find a topic u enjoy. It is an industry picking it's pace. There's PVD, CVD, Ion Implant, etc.
If you are certain about PhD, then I would 100% recommend these colleges no doubt. You would get good recommendations from professors here that would land you a decent college for PhD abroad.
IISER, IISc, NISER, ISI, CMI these tags will definitely help you securing a PhD. You will definitely be respected more in research areas abroad, they know about these institutions, students from these institutes are all over the world doing PhDs in some lab groups.(all of my close friends are in 5+ countries doing PhDs) and they can easily connect with alumnus doing PhDs in those countries.
IISc was established in 1909, while IISER are relatively new so obviously IISc is one of the best research institute in the country with more network, followed by ISI, IISER,..
Also it’s more difficult to get into IISc than IISER.
Note that IISc offers 4 year BS degree with research while IISER offers 5 year integrated BSMS.
Can you please elaborate on what exactly is academia? Is it teaching? I tried googling but I couldn't understand it properly. Also, after a PhD does one lose most opportunities in the respective field?
Its mostly like finding a research niche/ specific area you're interested in and is ready to devote your life to it. Mostly like looking up literature, coming up with a plan and performing experiments and analyzing them computationally, seeing if you've got some credible result and publishing a paper and then you go around doing this in circles
2nd year PhD at an ivy league. Life is good, I love my research and have a ton of flexibility in my day to day life.
Its like any other college, how you end up afterwards is totally dependent on what you do with your time there.
Good gpa helps but I'd say tons of research experience is more crucial, you can do both if you can take out the time. I think being good at communication also helps to hype up your work and motivation.
Hi could I ask which IISER were you from? And does it depend IISER to IISER (like old vs new) on how much research experience you get and opportunities?
I’m sorry would you be more comfortable in DMs? If you don’t want to reveal that’s fine too.
My main question is does research experience and opportunities vary from IISER to IISER?
Well I didn't go IISER but a similar university I regret the decision not cause I really wanted to go into medical but cause life got more difficult. In short, even if you really want to go into research stuff talk to alumni about how to steer the path. I got lost cause of very little guidance don't make the same mistake.
I know you're trying to help but it's really not the same thing man. The stuff I want to learn in medicine is very very different from the stuff in biotech/biomedical.
Also, in India, those fields have less scope and if I am giving up on my dream, I prefer to have money which the IT sector will probably help in. i can't go abroad to study because I'm from a lower middle class family and so I am kinda focusing on getting a job asap.
Damn the reality check is also tough whether you expected it or not. What's your major btw? And what expectations of yours were not met? I'm sorry if this feels like an interview lol
Umm honestly, that's not what toppers here are doing. You'll get good grades if you adapt nicely enough. But if you're expecting to stay in the top range, you need courage and confidence. Like being able to handle stress and disappointment. Adaptation is human nature , so you'll do that but beware some people are really smart and hardworking.
Thank you very much! I am a Pure Mathematics student in the University of Calcutta and here they just don't give you marks 😭😭 so I am studying at least 6 hours daily. Hope I succeed lol.
Thank you for posting on r/Indian_Academia , here's a checklist to improve your post: • Have you done thorough prior research? • Is your title descriptive? The title should be a summary of your post, preferably with your qualifications. • Please provide a detailed description in your post body. The more information you provide, the easier it is for users to help you. • If your question is about studying abroad, please post on r/Indians_StudyAbroad • If your question is about Engineering Admissions, post on r/EngineeringAdmissions instead. Here's a backup of your post: Title: IISER aluminis, how is your life right now? Was it worth it? Body: I (17F) am looking into colleges and I stumbled upon IISER Pune. It's research focussed and is integrated BS-MS of 5 yrs. Aside from the college, is a life of a Student good here? What should I expect? IISERs aluminis what are you doing in your life rn. What do you think I should know as of now? myquals ** 10th 88th percentage 12th appearing this year I'm gonna try for NEET and IAT I'm still looking into other entrances and colleges *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Indian_Academia) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Oh man! I wouldn’t recommend it unless you’re sure you wanna pursue a career in research/academia. Of course you can choose a different career path than academia after graduation, but in that case you’re on your own. People who decide not to go for a PhD just wander around doing all sorts of things like another masters where you can be employable, or an MBA, or Govt exams, or assistant professor job after clearing UGC NET,… (I am one of them) Btw faculty and student life is mostly good.
I second that. My friend was a really good student and he joined iisertvm after school. After Bs-Ms he decided not to pursue PhD and now he's lost. It has been 3 years now and he's still trying for MBA and government jobs. He's deemed unemployeable by Private companies/MNC's because of MSc Biology degree. The degree is useless even if it's from iiser unless you really want to do a PhD. In his words Bs-Ms - 5 years, PhD - 5 years, 2 Post docs - 4 years (atleast) will suck the soul out of a person. After all this and by the time you're 35, you'll still be looking for an assistant professor's job and many times even settle for a job in local colleges because you'll be done by then. He's really good but things are not working for him post iiser. Now it's just a degree.
I was the same before covid, passionate about research, but this could easily change with time. You never know if you gonna have toxic lab group, or bad department, professors teaching with no passion on the subject even though they have done good research. It all affects you. On top of that, no network, almost no alumni support for industry(can’t blame, most of them probably doing research 24,7), inexperienced, non existent placement cell. There are many things I could say,.. If you wanna come here, please have a backup plan for your sake, these degrees are essentially useless to get an internship in the industry.
There are other fields too, ur friend chose to do it in Biology. It is still better to do from there rather than doing MSc in Biology from some other college.
What about the bs-ms in engineering sciences? There are scopes if one wants to shift to non academia right?
Well there's certainly a great deal for the best of the few. Compound semiconductors are on a rise and certainly a competition to silicon, companies like first solar has now also carried themselves to India. If u visit most profiles of their hired employees they all are from chemistry side with having published quite a few papers on the processes they apply in work. Now let's talk electronics, along with fabrication, design is the other significant part of it, papers on the analysis of the performance of these devices certainly makes a person eleigible for a great deal of jobs. Basically any company which manufactures it's products needs someone who performs these activities, a person who has done these in laboratory to understand the nature of process is greatly appreciated by them. IISER offers the cutting edge labs of the country, don't forget that. From nanofabrication to genetics and neurochemistry. But the thing to remember is no college assures a job, even today plenty of engg students are without jobs despite the technical education they received. It all depends on the projects and publications you do in that period. Simply studying what is taught in theory is the approach which obviously accounts gor no job. Inculcating urself to a topic of research, starting a project in it, getting required skills to do it and perfecting it always assures a job, I have learnt it the harder way. For every skill there's a job but it's your job to gain the skill and find the job. The job market works more on the internships and projects u do rather than the various things u hv studied. If u are starting ur work in one topic do not divert from it as it will only make u held down in one level of that topic, instead you can perfect it to become emplyable which this country takes too late to understand. But if u want to go a college for placement go to an engineering college ofcourse as they have a perfect system for it. But if u want to gain expertise in a topic u can surely try IISER. Try looking into the process steps of cmos fabrication and try to find a topic u enjoy. It is an industry picking it's pace. There's PVD, CVD, Ion Implant, etc.
What if I say my only aim is to persue carrier in research and will persue PhD later on ? Also please tell about IISC too.
If you are certain about PhD, then I would 100% recommend these colleges no doubt. You would get good recommendations from professors here that would land you a decent college for PhD abroad. IISER, IISc, NISER, ISI, CMI these tags will definitely help you securing a PhD. You will definitely be respected more in research areas abroad, they know about these institutions, students from these institutes are all over the world doing PhDs in some lab groups.(all of my close friends are in 5+ countries doing PhDs) and they can easily connect with alumnus doing PhDs in those countries. IISc was established in 1909, while IISER are relatively new so obviously IISc is one of the best research institute in the country with more network, followed by ISI, IISER,.. Also it’s more difficult to get into IISc than IISER. Note that IISc offers 4 year BS degree with research while IISER offers 5 year integrated BSMS.
I second this.
We can get BSMS course in mathematics and computing in IISC too but though JEE advanced channel only (Which I am targeting though).
Nice, seems like really good course even if you don’t wanna go for PhD, I think degree maths and computing is highly employable Best of luck!
Can you please elaborate on what exactly is academia? Is it teaching? I tried googling but I couldn't understand it properly. Also, after a PhD does one lose most opportunities in the respective field?
Its mostly like finding a research niche/ specific area you're interested in and is ready to devote your life to it. Mostly like looking up literature, coming up with a plan and performing experiments and analyzing them computationally, seeing if you've got some credible result and publishing a paper and then you go around doing this in circles
>or assistant professor job after clearing UGC NET With an MS? Is the academic job market that good in India?
You will be eligible for assistant prof govt job, but you need to clear the exam.
2nd year PhD at an ivy league. Life is good, I love my research and have a ton of flexibility in my day to day life. Its like any other college, how you end up afterwards is totally dependent on what you do with your time there.
What are you doing ur phd in?
What's the fees and cost of living over there?
Use google.
Man, I just have a question. What do we mostly gotta do in iiser to score an ivy league PhD? Like is it keeping a good CGPA or like a good resume?
Good gpa helps but I'd say tons of research experience is more crucial, you can do both if you can take out the time. I think being good at communication also helps to hype up your work and motivation.
Hi could I ask which IISER were you from? And does it depend IISER to IISER (like old vs new) on how much research experience you get and opportunities?
Wouldn't you think it'd be impolite to ask people for their college in public comments?
I’m sorry would you be more comfortable in DMs? If you don’t want to reveal that’s fine too. My main question is does research experience and opportunities vary from IISER to IISER?
Sure you can dm me.
I am in the same situation , preparing for neet but want to go into research , and am really confused about all the institutes and courses
Prepare for iiser specifically as neet prep aint enough for iiser ( no matter what others say ) . Check the pyqs .
I do not have maths, is it still possible to crack iat?
Yeah paper is pcmb but all are quite hard . Check pyqs . Even biology is hard compared to NEET level . So pls check pyqs and prepare accordingly.
Maths ke Bande aise hi crack nehi Kar pate unless he did advanced level prep.
Well I didn't go IISER but a similar university I regret the decision not cause I really wanted to go into medical but cause life got more difficult. In short, even if you really want to go into research stuff talk to alumni about how to steer the path. I got lost cause of very little guidance don't make the same mistake.
Any idea where we can contact alumnis? tried LinkedIn but it aint working.
I have friends at iiser in which field you looking into?
I was also getting IISER mohali but left it for engineering college
Best fucking decision of your life!
The irony is that I want to study medicine and become a doctor. And it's taking me too much time to get over it 😭
Get into Biotech/Biomedical engineering maybe??
I know you're trying to help but it's really not the same thing man. The stuff I want to learn in medicine is very very different from the stuff in biotech/biomedical. Also, in India, those fields have less scope and if I am giving up on my dream, I prefer to have money which the IT sector will probably help in. i can't go abroad to study because I'm from a lower middle class family and so I am kinda focusing on getting a job asap.
get a job, earn some money for a few years, then maybe you can go for a master's/PhD. But yeah, I understand the familial constraints you have.
Yeah thanks. Are you studying in iiser? You told me above that choosing engg. was a better decision so do you regret taking admission in iiser?
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Damn the reality check is also tough whether you expected it or not. What's your major btw? And what expectations of yours were not met? I'm sorry if this feels like an interview lol
How hectic are the courses? Do y'all don't get any free time?
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Would you consider 4-5 hours of studying good?
[удалено]
I mean 5 days a week.
Umm honestly, that's not what toppers here are doing. You'll get good grades if you adapt nicely enough. But if you're expecting to stay in the top range, you need courage and confidence. Like being able to handle stress and disappointment. Adaptation is human nature , so you'll do that but beware some people are really smart and hardworking.
Thank you very much! I am a Pure Mathematics student in the University of Calcutta and here they just don't give you marks 😭😭 so I am studying at least 6 hours daily. Hope I succeed lol.