Sandeep Singh, from Indian Punjab, completed his PhD with a scholarship and taught as a guest lecturer at a government university for a while, but is now forced to sell vegetables on the roadside.
He has named his new work ‘PhD Vegetable’. His videos and photos have become the topic of discussion on social media.
Many people are linking their selling of vegetables with the problem of unemployment in Punjab.
Sandeep Singh says that he has also obtained Masters degree (MA) in four subjects along with Ph.D.
He said that after the PhD, ‘my full name is Dr. Sandeep Singh, but nowadays my name is PhD Sabziwala.’
Sandeep Singh has a stack of degrees which shows his academic ability but is frustrated that he has not got a job as per his qualifications.
Sandeep is married and has a son. Sandeep Singh is 39 years old. He lives in a rented house in Fateh Singh Colony, Amritsar.
What degrees did you get?
Sandeep has a PhD in Law. He has also passed the Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) examination conducted by the University Grants Commission (UGC).
Many students who clear this exam are given a monthly stipend amount which is quite good these days. This scholarship is awarded by the University Grants Commission (UGC) to students or researchers who pass this examination to pursue Ph.D.
Sandeep Singh says that he completed his PhD in the year 2017. He said that after that he has done MA degrees in Punjabi Language and Literature, Journalism, Women Studies and Political Sciences and now he is doing B.Lib (Bachelors in Library Sciences).
How to become a vegetable teacher?
Talking about his profession, he says that he was a guest lecturer at Punjabi University Patiala till June this year.
“I have taught for about 11 years, the first five years I taught as a junior research fellow and from 2016 I taught as a guest faculty for the next seven years,” he said while talking to the media.
He said that due to his poor financial status, he has to work as a vegetable grower to support his family.
He says that his salary was very low and now he does not even have a regular job.
According to him, no job is too big or too small, but work should be done on merit and competence, I am now doing what I could have done many years ago.
He says that as a guest lecturer he used to get a maximum of Rs 35,000 per month and that too for six or seven months of the year.
According to him, now he earns more than before by selling vegetables.
He has also written about his education in his book. People are surprised to see him calling customers.
Sandeep Singh said that he starts selling vegetables early in the morning and sells till noon. His dream is to open a coaching academy.
‘Coping with mental stress’
Sandeep Singh says that he faces stress all the time. Sandeep Singh completed his Masters in Law from Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar in 2009.
He said that ‘My child asks me repeatedly that, father, you used to go to university, why don’t you go now? When will you go?
He says that ‘I have only one answer that I will go after four days, those four days have not been completed in the last six months, I don’t know when they will end.
‘It is very painful for me.’
“I can’t say that the work that is giving me bread is bad, but I will soon return to my teaching profession,” he says about his life’s purpose.
But then he also says ‘I don’t have any recommendations, money or links, maybe that’s my fault.’
He said while talking that ‘when people around or my children see me carrying a basket of vegetables instead of teaching, it makes me feel pressure.’
They very innocently ask if the government doesn’t have enough resources to employ educated people like them.
They say that they do not ask for anything from the government, they say that ‘people vote for the government and it is their right that everyone gets decent employment.’