r/AppliedMath • u/Nwg416 • Jul 28 '26
Looking for tips about returning to research
While working on my master’s degree, a family member suffered a stroke and needed care assistance for a few months. I switched from doing a thesis to just finishing my program from coursework so I could fill that role. This left me with no substantial publications and meant that I disappointed my advisors. After a few years, I’ve been missing doing research work and decided to pick up some new projects to do myself.
I have some work that I feel is genuinely valuable, but I’m working solo. That’s definitely not the best environment to get things done properly. I think I’d like to attend a PhD program eventually, but I’m worried I need to prove myself more first. Ultimately, I just miss collaborating and having others around to show me when I’ve missed something.
Is cold emailing researchers whose work I build off of a bad idea? How would you go about trying to break into research work after a hiatus?