spoke with vedant das swain for a bit. he was kind with his time.
we spoke about possibilities for a ph.d., and what i can do during my time here to prepare myself for that journey. he advised me to not look at short-term returns, but do perhaps not so rewarding work if it leads to a better path for a phd.
recommendations & published-papers matter, and immediately boost your selection chances.
perhaps this is what tanika was also suggesting, when she asked me to paint a picture about where i want to go. also what tom tried to get me to do.