4 ms·

The N=2 Interview about Ph.D.s in Computer Science

63 points by azhenley 11y ago

TerryADavis 11y ago
We all know that most problems don't just get bad, they get worse. Those idiots scale up! I scale down. It doesn't juts get good, it gets better! I have no make utility. I have no linker. I can use tiny names. I could use global variables. I was a pussy and reduced the obnoxiousness. It was really neat. Maybe we put it back. I can recompile my whole kernel and test the new version in under 2 seconds. The cycle time between changing and testing is the most important thing in development. Everybody is an arrogant emporor with no cloths. Peter Gadwa made mastermind on the VAX system. Debugging is like mastermind. Sorry gadwa, it is the time, not the number of guesses that is important. Off by one? Guess. It's faster and more pleasant. Fucken clown niggers with emporor new cloths.
ronyeh 11y ago
I love the idea of doing an "interview" over Google Docs. That way you can ask one question and have multiple people respond at the same time. Great read. Thanks again @pgbovine!
- kevin_thibedeau 11y ago
  Ytalk reinvented bbadly.
karrentbahrain 11y ago
How can the second guy, Eugene Wu, possibly be a professor straight after getting his PhD? That's insane! In the UK you'd have to do probably 20 years after your PhD as a postdoc and then lecturer before you could remotely hope to get a chair. How come he's gotten it immediately?
- azhenley 11y ago
  It is field and country dependent. In CS in the US, postdocs are relatively new so it is common to go straight to a faculty position.
- ronyeh 11y ago
  It's all supply and demand. If you are a top grad at a top program in CS, there tends to be enough faculty spots. Some day far in the future when funding dries up and the field gets older, I assume there will be fewer open spots vs. recent PhDs, so more and more grads will have to do extended postdocs to prove themselves worthy of a faculty position.
- moyix 11y ago
  Yeah, it's quite common in the US in CS. I think you may also be confused because "professor" in the US is still used even for the lowest-ranked tenure-track positions (and even for adjuncts).
- hchenji 11y ago
  lecturer in uk = assistant professor (tenure track) in usa senior lecturer? in uk = associate professor (with tenure) in usa
  - joshvm 11y ago
    In the UK the pecking order is: PhD Student Postdoc Lecturer Reader Professor There are various higher positions like head of department/faculty and prestigious professorships, e.g. the Lucasian Chair in Cambridge. Lecturer is normally the first 'tenure track' job people get after being a postdoc for a few years. It's the first of the permanent placements you can get. That said, postdoc is a catch-all and doesn't necessarily mean fresh grad. There are postdocs in my group who are nearing retirement and have stable jobs.
- zhemao 11y ago
  Assistant professor is the entry-level academic position in the US. Many people do a postdoc first, but it's not uncommon to go straight to assistant professor right after getting your Ph.D., especially if you came out of a renowned school like MIT.
- pgbovine 11y ago
  eugene is just THAT good. and also in the U.S., the first tenure-track position after a Ph.D. is called "assistant professor", which differs from terminology used in other countries.
zeroday2015 11y ago
Technically in the UK it is: Post doc Lecturer A (probation) Lecturer B (tenured) Senior lecturer Reader Professor Senior/Research Professor or Named Chair Emeritus Professor

63 points by azhenley 11y ago

We all know that most problems don't just get bad, they get worse. Those idiots scale up! I scale down. It doesn't juts get good, it gets better! I have no make utility. I have no linker. I can use tiny names. I could use global variables. I was a pussy and reduced the obnoxiousness. It was really neat. Maybe we put it back. I can recompile my whole kernel and test the new version in under 2 seconds. The cycle time between changing and testing is the most important thing in development. Everybody is an arrogant emporor with no cloths. Peter Gadwa made mastermind on the VAX system. Debugging is like mastermind. Sorry gadwa, it is the time, not the number of guesses that is important. Off by one? Guess. It's faster and more pleasant. Fucken clown niggers with emporor new cloths.

ronyeh 11y ago

I love the idea of doing an "interview" over Google Docs. That way you can ask one question and have multiple people respond at the same time. Great read. Thanks again @pgbovine!

kevin_thibedeau 11y ago
Ytalk reinvented bbadly.

karrentbahrain 11y ago

How can the second guy, Eugene Wu, possibly be a professor straight after getting his PhD? That's insane! In the UK you'd have to do probably 20 years after your PhD as a postdoc and then lecturer before you could remotely hope to get a chair. How come he's gotten it immediately?

azhenley 11y ago
It is field and country dependent. In CS in the US, postdocs are relatively new so it is common to go straight to a faculty position.
ronyeh 11y ago
It's all supply and demand. If you are a top grad at a top program in CS, there tends to be enough faculty spots. Some day far in the future when funding dries up and the field gets older, I assume there will be fewer open spots vs. recent PhDs, so more and more grads will have to do extended postdocs to prove themselves worthy of a faculty position.
moyix 11y ago
Yeah, it's quite common in the US in CS. I think you may also be confused because "professor" in the US is still used even for the lowest-ranked tenure-track positions (and even for adjuncts).
hchenji 11y ago
lecturer in uk = assistant professor (tenure track) in usa senior lecturer? in uk = associate professor (with tenure) in usa
- joshvm 11y ago
  In the UK the pecking order is: PhD Student Postdoc Lecturer Reader Professor There are various higher positions like head of department/faculty and prestigious professorships, e.g. the Lucasian Chair in Cambridge. Lecturer is normally the first 'tenure track' job people get after being a postdoc for a few years. It's the first of the permanent placements you can get. That said, postdoc is a catch-all and doesn't necessarily mean fresh grad. There are postdocs in my group who are nearing retirement and have stable jobs.
zhemao 11y ago
Assistant professor is the entry-level academic position in the US. Many people do a postdoc first, but it's not uncommon to go straight to assistant professor right after getting your Ph.D., especially if you came out of a renowned school like MIT.
pgbovine 11y ago
eugene is just THAT good. and also in the U.S., the first tenure-track position after a Ph.D. is called "assistant professor", which differs from terminology used in other countries.

zeroday2015 11y ago

Technically in the UK it is: Post doc Lecturer A (probation) Lecturer B (tenured) Senior lecturer Reader Professor Senior/Research Professor or Named Chair Emeritus Professor