Who am I?
My name is Ismail and in 2023, I turned 40. As a result of a re-evaluation of my personal goals (or a fancy term for mid-life crisis), I decided to embark on a 10 year journey to get a Ph.D. in Computer Science from a global top tier institution.
The internet has massively broadened the possible space of careers.
Most people haven’t figured this out yet.
Naval Ravikant
Of course and you probably guessed it right. There are a lot of obstacles in the way:
I already work full time in a demanding business (construction).
I have a family and kids to support.
This is going to be really really expensive.
I live in the Middle East.
I need to find the time to study.
I’m not starting from scratch. I have a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering so do have a technical background. Therefore, I was looking for programs that provide a good transition to computer science without the extra fluff (sorry general education).
Some rules I’ve written up to achieve this feat:
Must be part-time and remote.
Should be from reputable institutions.
Fully funded through scholarships or side hustles. No debt!
Achieve a reasonable work-study-life balance (if that’s even possible).
Document the skills and lessons I learn along the way.
I personally love to learn, teach and inspire. So, my plan is to focus on educational technologies and entrepreneurship at the college and professional levels as a research topic. What better way to build up my 10,000 hours of study and research than to document my journey.
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