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I'm starting a PhD in circuit design this Fall. What I've read and noticed is that there will be a shortage in strong hardware researchers in a few years due to
by Cyph0n 11y ago
I'm starting a PhD in circuit design this Fall. What I've read and noticed is that there will be a shortage in strong hardware researchers in a few years due to the rising popularity of AI and ML. What do you think about this?
However I also have working experience in software dev, just in case this prediction doesn't pan out in the long run.
I'm actually going to work on a small business idea (likely SaaS) before my PhD starts, with the aim of scoring a modest source of income.
- Chronic51 11y agoThe demand for AI and ML is increasing faster than the number of qualified graduates and workers. This is not true for semiconductors.
- Cyph0n 11y agoI see, but won't demand likely increase in the near future, given that we're hitting the limits of silicon?
- smaddox 11y agoThere's plenty of PhD's working in semiconductor materials and devices. The US Gov is currently funding lots of research into so called 2D materials, e.g. graphene and MoS2. Personally, I'm skeptical that any of it will ever find anything more than tangential commercial application, e.g. graphene as a semi-transparent, high mobility conductor.
- tcbawo 11y agoMy advice is to find something you enjoy doing, rather than what you think is marketable. You might guess incorrectly and have neither money or job satisfaction. But, don't stress too much about choosing a path. Your career will evolve over the years.
- Cyph0n 11y agoI agree. I enjoy both fields (CS and EE), so I think I should be OK in that regard. I'm going for a PhD because I'd like to teach eventually, but I'm not sure about what I want to do in between.
- matchagaucho 11y agoIf the AI algorithms can only be optimized by pushing them into silicon, then a HW background could be valuable. However, many software architectures have yet to embrace the pipelining and parallel capabilities of today's CPUs... meaning the need for application-specific ICs could be many year away.