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Applied Program: Mechanical
Engineering
Why I Decide to
Pursue a Ph.D. Degree in the United States
A
year
ago,
when
I
announced
that
I
had
decided
to
pursue
a
Ph.D.
degree
in
the
field
of
Mechanical Engineering in
the United States, many of my close friends
expressed their utter
surprise
and
objection.
According
to
their
judgment,
I
have
been
proceeding
along
a
successful journey of
life. There is no necessity for me to embark on a
course of life with filled
with
self-inflicted
pains
and
difficulties.
Indeed,
as
a
talented
young
lecturer
working
at
a
major
university whose career is in ascendancy, I
possess a sense of pride that many of my
fellow compatriots do not possess: a
stable job which gives me a strong sense of
achievement,
three-month
paid
vacation
annually,
a
warm
family
life,
research
papers
and
research
projects that far exceed those of my
colleagues both in quality and in quantity, plus
candidacy
for this year's associate
professor of xxxxxx University. If I gain a Ph.D.
degree from any of
the
major
Chinese
universities,
it is
almost
certain
that
within
five
years
I
would
become
a
professor of the xxxxxxx
University. Compared with this, my academic
pursuit in the United
States would be
much more difficult and painful: long separation
from my family members,
cultural and
linguistic disadvantages, possibly a longer
program (whereas in China a Ph.D.
program takes at most three years).
Nevertheless,
I
believe
that
my
decision
is
correct.
Out
of
my
serious
reflections,
I
have
arrived at the
following realizations. First, I can never develop
myself into a first-rate scholar
if
I
do
not
obtain
a
Ph.D.
degree
from
a
first-rate
university.
Throughout
my
school
life,
I
have
been
endeavoring
to
be
the
top
student
of
my
class.
Since
I
started
my
career
as
a
teacher,
I
have
also
urged
myself
to
be
among
the
best
employees.
Therefore,
to
develop
myself
into
a
first-rate
scholar
is
currently
my
most
fervent
aspiration.
However,
an
event
that
happened
three
years
ago
changed
my
initial
plan
of
undertaking
my
Ph.D.
studies in
China. Three years ago, I was working
on my Master's program in motive power mechanical
engineering
in
xxxxxxx
University,
which
ranks
among
the
top
5
universities
in
China.
Its
Engineering Department ranked third. At
that time, my supervisor Prof. Jeff was involved
in
the
research
on
the
Steam
Injected
Gas
Turbine
Technology,
with
a
state
sponsorship
of
x00,000 US Dollars. It was one of the
major research projects at that time and
represented the
highest
research
level
in
China
in
its
field.
When
I
helped
my
supervisor
consult
relevant
technical
literature, I was regretted to find that American
scientists had already undertaken
similar research ten years before that
and a large number of research papers had already
been
published. What we were doing was
simply repeating what our American counterparts
had
already done! The fact that what
appeared to be the most sophisticated research in
a first-rate
Chinese university was
actually a mere repetition of the research work of
other scientists in
more
advanced
countries
saddened
me.
I
decided
that
I
would
not
undertake
my
Ph.D.
program in any of
Chinese universities, even a first-rate
university. The United States would
be
my choice because only in such a country was it
possible for me to perform the first-rate
research and become a first-rate
scientist.
On the other
hand, only by pursuing my Ph.D. degree overseas
will I be able to improve the
living
conditions of my family and allow my family
members to live a better life. I now enjoy
happy
family
life.
My
wife
is
a
doctor
in
our
city's
largest
hospital
and
we
have
a
lovely
three-year-old daughter. They love me
very much and I love them very much too. They
fully
support
me
in
my
efforts
to
seek
further
education
in
America.
It
is
precisely
my
love
for
them
that
makes
me
feel
responsible
for
enabling
them
to
live
a
rich
life.
It
is
obvious
that
only
my
career
success
can
fulfill
this
wish.
Upon
returning
to
China
after
completing
my
prospective
degree
program,
my
Ph.D.
degree
from
a
renowned
American
university
will
become
a
golden
key
to
the
even
greater
success
in
my
career
and
in
my
family
life.
By
helping
many
Chinese
enterprises
improve
their
technological
level
and
realize
immense
profits, I will
undoubtedly be rewarded with an infinitely
successful career and an enviable
income.
My Study
and Research Experience
In
19--
I
was
enrolled
in
the
reputed
xxxxxx
University
where
I
specialized
in
the
motive
power
mechanical
engineering.
As a
top
xx
university
among
a
total
of
1000
institutions
of
higher
learning
in
China,
it
is
sometimes
referred
to
as
Oriental
MIT
Also,
as
one
of
China's xx
universities
with
the
longest
history,
it
is
the
cradle
for
numerous accomplished
engineers
and
important
people.
Mr.
,
the
current
President
of
China,
is
a
graduate
of
this
university. As a top
university, its entrance examination is inevitably
extremely competitive.
A total of 300
freshmen were admitted into the Department of
Engineering and my score at
the
entrance examination was the highest. For the
first two years of my undergraduate study,
my GPA ranked among the top three of
the entire class. According to the conventions of
the
university,
top
students
have
the
right
to
attend
whatever
courses
offered
by
other
departments
as
auditors.
Hence,
for
the
last
two
years,
I
audited
many
courses
that
I
considered to be both interesting and
useful such as Automation Control Theory, Signal
and
Systems, and Digital Signal
Processing at the Department of Automation,
Operation Systems
and
Data
Structure
at
the
Department
of
Computer
Science,
Digital
Circuits
and
Analog
Circuits, Principles of Communication,
and Computer Principles and Interface Technology
at
the Department of Electrical
Engineering. Although attending too many courses
at the same
time affected my GPA
negatively, the interdisciplinary studies that I
carried out during this
period
exerted
an
important
impact
on
my
outlook,
making
me
realize
that
a
well-
trained
engineer
must
possess
knowledge
in
diverse
fields.
Only
by
means
of
a
comprehensive
application
of
knowledge
in
machinery,
computer
technology,
automation
and
electronics
can an engineer produce useful products
and valuable research findings. Before I
graduated, I
chose Prof. Jeff as the
supervisor of my graduation project and thesis. At
that time, Prof. xxxx
had
just
returned
to
China
from
Japan
as
a
visiting
scholar
and
from
him
I
learned
programming
by
using
C
Language.
I
became
one
of
a
limited
number
of
people
in
the
university
who could manipulate C Language for programming.
For three months, I solved
the data
transmission problem between a FFT analyzer and a
PC of B & K Company through
GPIB
Interface using C Language. At the end of my
thesis, I attached the research findings of
a
computer
virus
monitoring
software
that
I
developed
during
this
period.
On
account
of
those
research results, Prof. xxxx praised me as
seen. Throughout those years, we have
been maintaining a close friendship.
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