Sudipta Mondal is a third-year PhD researcher at the University of Michigan, focusing on nanomaterials and quantum dots for photovoltaics and electronics. After a BS–MS in Chemical Sciences from Kolkata and research stints at IISc Bangalore, he chose Michigan for its faculty fit and world-class labs. He now combines his doctoral work with an internship at a U.S. semiconductor company, presents at conferences, and champions smart networking, financial discipline, and steady adaptation to life in the U.S.
What this conversation covers
- Why Sudipta chose the University of Michigan for a PhD
- A typical day (flexible schedule driven by instrument bookings)
- Networking & conferences (how an internship came from a conference chat)
- Whether to start a PhD right after graduation or work first
- Adapting to life in the U.S. and early culture shocks
- Leisure and weekend activities
- Career paths after a PhD (academia vs industry)
- Financial tips for PhD students and stipends (U.S. vs India)
Transcript
Sudipta: So I’m right now doing my PhD at the University of Michigan and I’m in my third year of PhD. Uh, I’m also doing an internship right now at one of the companies here in the US.
Why Michigan? (motivation & shortlisting)
StudioAbroad: I’m really curious to know what inspired you to pursue studies at University of Michigan? Was it a gradual feeling or was there some immediate cause to it?
Sudipta: Yeah. So I did my BSMS from Kolkata and I majored in chemical sciences. So while doing my BSMS I always liked to do research and I did a few internships in ISC Bangalore during my time and during that time I worked with uh nanomaterials, quantum dots and their applications in photovoltaics, electronics so that’s how I got interested in research and during my master’s thesis research I kind of got the feeling like yeah this is what I want to do later on as well. So that kind of solidified my desire for applying for a PhD after I graduated. And then mostly it was kind of based on faculties. I looked on the websites of different universities. I looked through the web pages faculties and their homepages and what kind of research they were doing. I was also like in the back of my head I also had the ranking of the universities in mind. So I wanted to apply to some of the better universities you know. Uh so kind of that’s how I shortlisted University of Michigan as one of the universities I wanted to apply to and I wanted to do it like in the US itself. So all the universities I shortlisted were in the US. So the sorting criteria for the universities was first of all faculties, research interest and then the ranking of the university.
Day in the life (schedule, lab work)
StudioAbroad: All right. Can you take me through your day? How a day in your life going to the university coming back and all those things? What does it look like?
Sudipta: Yeah, sure. Uh for me it’s actually I would say it’s a bit different from maybe other PhD students because I usually don’t have a fixed schedule that’s because like I have discussed this with my PI like the problem is there’s a lot of instruments that I have to use and most of them are like central facilities. So I plan my experiments kind of based on the availability of those instruments. So some days I wake up in the morning. I don’t have any experiments because I have reservations for the tools like later in the day in the afternoon. So I would usually go to the office maybe around like uh like 9:00 a.m. or like 10:00 a.m. So I’ll do some data analysis from previous experiments that I’ve done. And then in the afternoon, not necessarily in the afternoon, but even in the evening when I will have time on the tools, I’ll go there and run my experiment. Sometimes the days are a bit different. Sometimes I can even work from home because I have long experiments at night because the tool is heavily booked by other users as well. So I have to plan my experiments such that I get a long slot on the tool, like a constant or continuous 4 hour slot. So I have to book it at night. So those days I will not go. I will usually do my work from home, data analysis and stuff and then like in the evening I’ll go to the lab and start working. So that might run late into the night, maybe like 12:00 a.m., 1:00 a.m. So it’s like that. It’s pretty flexible for me. So you always have to kind of discuss with your professor how he or she expects you to kind of be in the lab or not, whether you have a fixed schedule. For my case, it’s not that rigid. The only thing that matters is showing data to my professor, making sure that you are on the right track for doing what you like and what’s expected of you. So the schedule is not that tight and my professor understands that because you have to design your experiments based on the availability of instruments.
Professional growth (networking, conferences, internship)
StudioAbroad: So how much has staying at Michigan helped you professionally so far for internships or networking and conferences?
Sudipta: Uh yeah! I think it has helped me a lot in the sense of my career growth or professional networking. Once I came to Michigan I was almost instantly exposed to a lot of world-class research facilities and lots of professors who are very acclaimed in their fields. So definitely I was very happy to take their classes and talk with them personally. I also like to collaborate with them. So that opened a lot of new opportunities and also my professor is very helpful in terms of going to conferences. So every year I go to at least one. I try to go to at least one or two conferences and in conferences you can always, you know, there’s people from all around the world. So depending on what research you are doing you can select the talks you want to attend. You can choose the people you want to interact with. So you can go and talk with them.
I think a lot of people do that but the most important thing is to leave a mark on the people you talk to so that later on you can say “Hey! I met you at this conference. Do you remember?” So the conversation you have with those people, the way you have it is very important. So that’s how I got the internship as well. I talked with someone at the conference and he kind of had an interview on the spot at the conference and he was happy with me. So that’s how I got the internship. But yeah Michigan in general, I think it’s a very big school. There are lots of good professors here and the facilities are also very good. So definitely it has helped me a lot in terms of my career growth, understanding how research is performed in those labs, what are the expectations of you and also what’s the work culture in general over here.
PhD timing (right after graduation vs after work)
StudioAbroad: Obviously connecting to people is very important when you need internships or jobs. Networks are the most crucial things. Would you recommend pursuing a PhD right after graduation or master’s degree or you need to gain some work experience first? What’s your recommendation?
Sudipta: Honestly, that depends on your field, let’s say, also depends on your preference. If you are very passionate about research and you really know that you want to do research later on in your life I would say don’t waste your time just apply for a PhD straight out of like graduation from your masters or even bachelors, because people here in the US, I’ve seen they apply for a PhD right after their bachelors because in the PhD programs here in the US, you get a PhD, you get a master’s degree on route to your PhD. So in the five years of PhD I will also get an embedded masters. So people apply for PhD right after bachelors. So if you know you are really passionate about research and that’s what you want to pursue later on in your life. So just apply after your bachelors. But if you’re not really sure and you have other constraints in your life like you have to get a job, maybe family problems, maybe you need some money to pay off your loans. So then I would say go for a job, and have an experience at the job and if you don’t like it, you can definitely pursue a PhD later on. But I would say, it’s not a good idea to waste your time if you’re sure you’re going to do a PhD later on and you’re going to leave the job eventually. Just go for a PhD right away. That would be my suggestion. If you know you’re going to do research, you need to be very clear in your mind to decide what you’re going to do.
Adapting to the U.S. (first months)
StudioAbroad: How did you initially adapt at Michigan because obviously coming from India and then going to the US, how was the adaptation process?
Sudipta: Yeah, I think I think it was very gradual honestly, you can’t really adapt at once. It will feel too overwhelmed by everything that you see around. You know, everything is very different, whether it’s the people, the food, the transportation, the university itself. It will feel very different from what you knew back in India so it will take time, for me it was like almost a period of,I would say the first 6 months before I got properly accustomed to everything, be it buying your own groceries, cooking at home, traveling. It took me at least a few months but I would say, yeah people might feel sad or depressed initially but it’s always important to talk to people so talk to your colleagues, essentially like other people from your cohort who are doing PhD with you. You’ll have classes with them, go and talk to them and make sure you do some group activities together with them during the weekend or something so that way you will not feel too lonely and it is also important to talk with your family back home, so make sure you make time for them as well and gradually I think if you are doing a PhD you will for sure have the brains and ability to adapt to everything that’s different over here. It’s nothing too complicated, it’s just different. So it will just take some time but definitely you’ll be able to adapt to it. And it was the same for me as well. It took some time but gradually it’s like you will you will get used to it.
Leisure & weekends
StudioAbroad: Can you tell me a few of your favorite leisure time activities that you love to do on your weekends?
Sudipta: So right now, for me it is usually going to a spot for hiking. So since now I have a car I usually like to drive to a good hiking trail and I do hiking and stuff. But that’s for one of the long weekends. If it’s like a normal weekend, I usually go and play football or I play badminton with my friends and I sometimes also go to the lake nearby our university. I go there and do stuff like kayaking, swimming. So yeah these activities, mostly like outdoor activities I would say because research is mostly indoors. So it’s better to do something outdoors during the weekend. Yeah. Right.
Culture shocks
StudioAbroad: There are different cultures that are followed in the US and there’s a cultural difference in India. What were the different cultural shocks you experienced? Some of the funny ones?
Sudipta: Before I talk about cultural shocks, the first shock was definitely getting used to driving on the different side of the road. That took some time getting used to. And as for the cultural shock, I would say one of the funny thing is like in India when you walk on the street or if you like just going to the grocery shopping people will usually walk past you if you don’t know them personally but I have seen people here, they will come up to you and say like hi how are you doing good morning and stuff like that like small talks, so small talk is definitely a kind of cultural shock that I had here. So you have to get like used to it like initially I thought why is that person asking me like how am I doing I don’t know that guy so that’s something.Takes time getting used to and also like I would say food habits, like the food habit is very different here so if you don’t cook yourself, it’s usually tough to get good food according to your preference.
There was a mess and a canteen where you could get food every day according to your needs. But here universities have subsidized stores but those are branded stores like restaurants. And the food is usually, there’s not many Indian options honestly. So that’s the point. Unless you cook on your own, you have to get used to eating many different cuisines, and many different foods. So that will take some time getting used to. Once you are into it, you’ll definitely like it. That I can say. And apart from that, cultural shock. I think these were some of the most distinct cultural shocks that I faced. But apart from that, I think if you like to talk to people and if you like to communicate with them, things will feel normal honestly. Uh but yeah like there there are some other cultural shocks like that I didn’t know before is that they usually say “Yeah, I talked to my mom like last month or like two weeks back.”, but that’s that’s very different from us, because we are more closer to our parents than the people in the US.
Career paths after the PhD
StudioAbroad: What are the different career paths that are open for you or any student who has pursued PhD after they complete their studies or research?
Sudipta: Yes. It depends on what you want to do. There are two distinct career options that people usually take. One is academia and the other one is industry. So depending on your field of research, you can either become a professor in one of the universities, either in the US or in any other country in the world, like in India, or you can go into the industry in a country where that industry is kind of booming. So for me, for example, since I’m doing research in semiconductors and I’m also doing an internship in one of the semiconductor companies over here. I’m not actually sure if I want to do a full-time industry job after PhD or do more post-dial research. I’m still kind of in the deciding phase about that. But both options are open. That’s my point. So if you want to go into academia and become a professor, it is utmost important that you do a post-dial research under another professor in your field and if you want to go to job so definitely during PhD you will gain all the skill sets that you need to apply for an industrial job and the industry will be happy to have you. So I think these are the two very major options that you have for life after your PhD. When I talk about industry I don’t mean a single company or something. There’s a lot of companies where you can apply to, depending on your skill sets, depending on your research interests and everything.
Money & stipend advice
StudioAbroad: Any financial tips for students who are going to read this blog between you and me?
Sudipta: Financial, yeah financially I think, if you are coming for a PhD, there is not too much to worry about because from what I know is people who usually come for masters sometime have to take out an education loan to pay the tuition fees but people coming for PhD are usually paid by the university every month for doing their research, they have to teach as well. So they’re paid by the university. So a good habit to develop for a PhD student doing his research since you are getting paid, it’s very essential to kind of keep what kind of money you spend on things like groceries. You should cook for yourself so that you can save some money. Let’s suppose you have to send money back home to India. So it’s essential to control your spendings. So that’s the most important thing. But once you start living here, you’ll kind of get the hang of it, like what kind of stuff you should buy. Like only buying the essentials, no need to spend extravagantly on stuff like gaming setups or some fancy lights. So just buy the essentials that you need. It’s good to have a regular savings and try to open a savings account here in the US because I think initially you will not have enough money to do investments and stocks which you definitely should do later on but initially, just try to save a healthy amount of money every month so that in case of emergencies, you have enough savings and yeah I think you’ll get paid enough as a grad student to get by and just make sure you are not spending without a reason. So you get paid with a stipend.
Stipends (India vs U.S.)
StudioAbroad: I’m curious because obviously there are PhD students in India too. Do they get stipends too?
Sudipta: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. PhD students all over the world get stipends from the university or the professor themselves. Same in India as well.
StudioAbroad: So what’s the difference in the amount of stipend you get at Michigan, in the US or in India?
Sudipta: So obviously the main difference is here you are getting paid in US dollars. So if you are sending money back home that will be like, even if you’re sending like $1,000, that will be a lot in terms of Indian money. So that’s 80,000 rupees, almost or even more than 85,000. But in India I think yeah one challenge that I’ve seen for PhD students is their stipend is not that high, there are some schemes I’m not sure if that scheme is still there or not like the PMRF scheme which pays the PhD students almost I think 50,000 to 80,000 per month throughout their PhD programs but I’m not sure if that’s still there or not but there are definitely some good scholarships in India as well but yeah the amount of money that you get paid in the US is slightly more than in India. Also the living costs here in the US are higher as well. So it makes sense that they pay more here. But yeah, I think compared to PhD students in India, PhD students in the US are paid more handsomely.