I am Meeran from India. Recently completed my masters in computer science engineering and working in a software firm. I am very much interested in pursuing a Ph.D because I like research which I don't know why. I am working now just to make myself financially strong enough to start my research. The thing is I don't know whether I am eligible to do research. I am not very clever, not an expert programmer, just a first class master student. I just have one publication made. I am trying to increase my publication number but I can't move than one. This is the point where I lose my heart. To say an example I will sit online to do some literature review but after an hour I will be doing something else like being in Facebook. See this is my problem. Lack of dedication. With just one publication how can I apply for reputed universities. Whether a passion to research alone is enough to apply for Ph.D. And if you say," dude phd is not for you, leave it and concentrate on your job", surely i wont leave striving for my research career and I don't know why ( but if you think so... Please say it frankly). And if you think i can do PhD, Kindly give me some positive encouraging words with advice.

Hi Meeran

I think everyone who does a PhD feels that they're not actually that clever (well, maybe some geniuses don't feel that, but I know I do, and PhD friends do). You don't need to be a genius, you just need to have the interest and the motivation, and yes, some academic ability but if you've got a good Masters degree I can't see any reason why you wouldn't be able to do a PhD.

Publications aren't necessary before starting a PhD, at least not in my discipline or in any other I know about, although it might be different in your field (though I doubt it). A PhD is training to become a researcher so you don't need to know it all before you start.

As to dedication - well, that's another matter. You do need dedication. But finding yourself wandering off after an hour is not necessarily a sign of not being dedicated - human beings all have limited attention spans, we can only concentrate on one thing for a short period of time, and for most people that's a lot less than an hour. You could try giving yourself a break after so many minutes - say, a five minute break after every twenty-five minutes of work. This can make you fresher and make it easier to concentrate. The Pomodoro technique works on this principle and is very useful for lots of people - google it and try it out.

Hope that helps!