3
K-ASS
5y

I need advice.

I'm going to apply for PhD this year, but here's the thing, I don't have a specific interest in anything.

This sounds weird but I only want to do thinking. Like solving problems.

I would have a paper coming out this month as first author, but we discovered some weekends of our algorithm recently and decided to postponed the paper (there are 4 professors on the project and one researcher), so I guess this will definitely affect my application.

Like, what shall I say even on the personal statement? That I have one active mind that just won't stop thinking? The very fact that everything is interesting to me made me not interested to anything.

Comments
  • 3
    I would ask myself: if you could program anything, what would it be?
    Could be specific like CPUs / algorithms, could be broad like NSA tools, which would probably include the former.
    You are probably most interested in that, and then I'd expand from there to your affinity for general problem solving.

    Disclaimer: no degree
  • 3
    So I was in a similar conundrum, just one level lower: what to do in Masters. My answer was to spend a year doing...other stuff, and I now know what to apply for. Perhaps you could do the same? Work for a bit or do other stuff, see what interests you enough to do a PhD in it?
  • 1
    Why dont you pick exactly the problem you are faced with now. That wouls be a terrific philosophy piece imo.
  • 2
    When I was writing a personal statement for a scholarship, I had the same issue, I didn't actually know what I was to mention there. I tried to search through the internet, and found a company https://checkmypersonalstatement.net/... that helped me with it. They are really cool guys, who can check and edit your personal statement, and give cool recommendations for the best paper.
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