Why Research?

A Computer Science Students Views

A common Bengali-ism states research is the other word for a farmers quest for his runaway cow! It is loosely based on a trivial translation of the word gabeshana (research), as eshana in Bengali denotes search, and we are all familiar with the Sanskrit representation of cow as go. Jokes apart, research is not a fruitless, time-consuming pursuit as common notion dictates. It is a viable career option, not devoid of glamour if one has the capability. Technological advancement came quite late in this country, where flawed policies resisted automation of any form in fear of unemployment. For the policy-makers, injecting this fear in the minds of the barely educated masses boosts their vote-bank as voters fail to realise the positive consequences of using machinery. So, computerisation of manufacturing processes began as late as the 90s, initiated by then Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi. Because of this, computer education trickled down to the school level much later. At present, the booming IT sector of the country is nothing but great numbers of under-exploited, over-qualified coders, who are cheap labour for software-giants based abroad. They do the enviable research, we do the dirty work. In some of the IT firms, graduate engineer trainees do work equivalent to that of a data entry operator; or much worse, no work at all. If a story in a reputed daily (Benchnama, Anandabazar Patrika, Rabibasariya segment) is to believed, such benched employees are kicked out if they do not get assigned to a project for more than six months. When the scenario is so ruthless, why not stand out from the crowd by having a niche degree in your kitty? A masters shall certainly add to the depth of ones resume, and a doctoral degree can land a software engineer (if he has the capability) a position in the research wings of the same softwaregiants who would have hired him as another coder in their overcrowded resource pool. Statistics show a great deficiency in the number of PhDs needed by our country, as reputed companies realise the talent in Indian youth. Add to it a passion for learning; achieving depth in ones own subject; and the average engineering student is ready to join the academia or industrysponsored research. Undoubtedly, research offers great work-life balance, absent in regular jobs. Shivaram Kalyanakrishnan, a researcher at the Yahoo! Labs, Bangalore, said at a recent workshop It was not clear to me in the final year of engineering what I wanted to do in the future. Many of my friends were applying for grad school, so I did the same. I got selected, and during my time at the grad school, I fell in love with the subject I realised this (referring to his research career) was what I wanted to do. His point was very practical when a student doesnt feel ready for a career in research, by enrolling into masters, he buys himself time for thought, keeping other career options open. By Purnata Ghosal, Final year (B.E), CST Deptt.