I recently sent an email to a professor at Caltech asking for his advice on how I could go from where I am at right now to getting into a top PhD program at schools such as his and others. To my surprise, He replied to my email. His message read as follows:
the thing that would make you more competitive is research experience. Working as a technician in a lab for a while or something similar, so that you can get experience with actual research and letters of rec that speak to your competancy, passion, ability to overcome problems, etc, is what usually make the difference.
So the natural next question is, how do I get into one of these jobs? Is it hard to get positions like these? By the end of this fall I will have a 2-year degree in computer science and will be going on to a 4-year school to finish my bachelors degree. Where should I be checking for these jobs? And would it be hard for me to get?
Get schooling as a lab tech, possibly in vo-tech ... rather than a BS degree. Then you might be able to get a job at a medical lab ... most of that work is outsourced to labs independent of hospitals. Research labs .. not so much. Be a grad student willing to work for free. Don't see any income in that.
Still interested in Computer Science? ... here is the real thing ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csyL9EC0S0c
More truth about programming ... for those who don't want their haggis to get overly ripe, so they just bite a sheep stomach while it is still on the sheep! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MticYPfFRp8
If you're attending school, find a professor who does research in a field you're interested in, and ask if you can be a part of his research team.
I have three years of research experience, but I sort of got lucky - took the right class at the right time. The professor was teaching his first semester at my university, and he was barely setting up his lab and building his team. He asked for those interested to come see him in his office, so I obliged, and I worked there for three years.
It is not a paid position, but it can be. When I was doing research, I applied to several grants which paid me, albeit not much, to do some research on condition I write a report and present it at some board meetings/research symposiums. Then, again, I did research in environmental engineering, more specifically in wastewater remediation, in California at the height of our recurring drought. There was funding available for that kind of research.
Firstly You have to make a firm decision on what branch you wanna improve yourself intellectually.
Before making a firm decision think that you may deeply regret at the future why you have chosen such a branch that you understand you do not like after reading a little on that branch.
Making a PhD is required devotion. But it is understood from your messages you are in some kind of existential crises which i am in, too.
I wanna continue taking my education, too. But i have some economic problems. I am 28 and the people that is 28 is supposed in the society earn his money and marry. I also do not know what i ll do about this situation. The thing in my heart is to go on my education. I'll do so.
Combine 2 subjects. No one Professor will ever be able to criticize you with certainty. Like "References To Fluid Mechanics in 17th Century French Romantic Poetry". Or "Aristotle and The Origins Of The Powerpuff Girls".