Graduate / SOP for Phd in Resource Economics [5]

Please give me some feedback on this.. PhD for Fall 2011

"There are moments which can change a person's life for all time, and I suddenly wondered if I would ever see my snug Hobbit Hole again, I wondered if I actually wanted to."

This quote from the move, Lord of the Rings, is one of my favorites, and it signifies the extent to which my experiences - be they in college, graduate school, the workplace, or just my everyday life - have changed my perspectives on what I desire from and what I feel I will be happy doing in my life. The quote also cautions against settling for the comfort of familiarity, since untried paths might actually lead to something wonderful.

Despite the obvious benefits of an Indian education, extensive science and math instruction from the very beginning being one of them, one noticeable drawback was the lack of flexibility. As a high school student there in the 1990s, my academic path was clearly planned out, not by me necessarily, but by my parents, relatives and friends. As a "good student", the only vocational path that was appropriate for me was to be something like a doctor, engineer or scientist. Any other careers, like those in business, arts, etc., were strictly off limits. Thus, I started my undergraduate career in Computer Science, since I was conditioned to not comprehend the possibility of gratification in anything else.

Luckily, I obtained a scholarship to study in the United States, where opportunities to try out various courses, across majors, made for an academic environment quite unlike the one I was used to in India. Coming to the US, while aberrant for a person of my background, was one of the best decisions in my life. I not only obtained a first rate education in something I discovered I actually cared about, but also had the privilege of meeting wonderful people, from varied cultures and backgrounds, some of whom took the place of my family during my stay there. I, thereby, understood the value of experiential realization, leading to an appreciation for inquiry and empirical research that persists with me till date.

So what made me eventually discover my love for Economics? One could say that I was, initially, forced into the relationship. Thanks to the liberal arts curriculum of my undergraduate program, I was expected to take Economics 101 to fulfill my General Education requirements, over and above my coursework in Computer Science. I deferred fulfillment of this prerequisite for as long as possible, but was, eventually, compelled to take the course by my adviser, in the first semester of my junior year. Suddenly, questions about life, the answers to which I had taken as given, thanks to the media and other societal influences, called for reevaluation. Out of nowhere, my education became relevant to my world. Consequent to such a brutal disruption to my scholastic plane, I had a moral obligation, if only to myself, to change my major and pursue this cause to its logical conclusion. This I did, despite the voracious protests of my parents and relatives, who could not fathom this intellectual transformation.

Fortune, thus, had a big part to play in my ensuing courtship. If I had ended up attending a technical program, like most of my countrymen attempting a degree in Computer Science, I would have lost out on discovering a major part of my psyche.

Despite the immense pressure of having to take all classes within my new field of study close together, and my already less-than-stellar grades, due to my, recognizably, wrong academic and personal choices, I finished my BA in Economics on time and with a decent grade point average within my major. Even though not reflective of my potential and a disappointment in many ways for me, my low overall GPA contributed to bringing me close to the subject that I now have grown to adore. My love affair with Economics continued through graduate school at Illinois State University, where I concluded my Master's degree in Applied Economics.

At Illinois State, the topic that I enjoyed most was econometrics. I found intriguing the stories told by numbers and how morals obtained from those stories could be used to drive better decisions. My capstone project, which was later published in an academic journal, was also a statistical thesis on the relationship between public and private savings. I was, in this manner, introduced to the practical applications of quantitative economics even before I attempted to utilize my newly-acquired skills in the job market.

After graduation, I was lucky enough to obtain employment at Johnson and Johnson, where the correct evaluation and interpretation of numbers meant the difference between life and death for the millions that depend on drugs developed by the company. Moving on from that position, I had the opportunity to work in the field of health economics, analyzing how insurance companies could ensure the best outcomes for their customers. While, both, Johnson and Johnson and the Center for Study of Services allowed me to hone my applied statistics and statistical programming skills, it is my current position that has allowed me to really focus my research facilities on a topic that has a wide-ranging impact on the macroeconomic framework.

The energy sector of India is an incredibly complex entity, encompassed by the even-more incredibly complex Indian economy. Throw in the world's new-found, almost-fanatical, tenderness for the environment, and one would discover that investigation into Indian power utilities, by itself, makes for a very rigorous education. In India, the phrase, "unlimited demands for limited resources", assumes a significance of unimaginable proportions, like perhaps nowhere else in the world, exacerbated by the government's self-deception about its ability to wisely allocate these limited resources in the best way possible. Over the course of my now one-and-a-half year quest, I have gained insight into a remarkable regulatory framework, which somehow allows the private sector to keep ticking, even as the government maintains its significant role, an intricate-and a most fascinating-dance, indeed.

My experience as a captive audience to this politico-economic ensemble has led me to realize that the intellectual tools currently at my disposal are not enough for me to even begin to coin an appropriate response to the situation. But it is also clear that that the status quo cannot persist if the per capita consumption of energy is to climb to anything resembling respectable figures. These two factors have led me to consider going back to graduate school for my PhD.

At the same time, I know that a solution can emerge only via application of my subsequent academic study to such observable economic phenomena, while maintaining a healthy respect for the formalism inherent to most PhD programs. I expect that your program, specifically, would equip me for that endeavor.

At XYZ school, while hesitant to be too specific about my plan of study, I anticipate concentrating on natural resource economics and applied statistics, which when combined with your department's inherent stress on econometrics, would allow me the knowledge that I require to succeed in my field. At the same time, some of the topics offered in other fields also interest me. For instance, while not a very keen student of the agricultural sector per se, I think the futures and options market course is pertinent to my research interests, given that energy is increasingly becoming commoditized. Further, at XYZ, the presence of faculty, such as Drs. AAA, BBB and CCC, whose research interests, I feel are closely aligned with mine, would serve to bolster my own investigations while I am a student there, as well as provide me with a sense of direction for thereafter.

XYZ's tilt towards the Chicago School of thought, in addition, is an extremely potent attraction for me. While a XYZ education would, thus, undoubtedly, be a massive asset for me, I too have, over the years, I believe, matured as a professional in my discipline and would be a good addition to your department. Post-graduation, I would like to obtain a position in an energy research institute or think tank, or, perhaps, within the research department of an energy firm or power utility, allowing me to concentrate my energies on ensuring the most efficient allocation of these scarce resources. I truly believe that the PhD in Applied Economics from XYZ, combined with my own experiences and interests, would provide me with the means to accomplish my professional goals and aspirations. I hope, next fall, I am given the opportunity to take my first step in this direction.