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Deep learning consulting ("I teach people to teach machines"). Finished my PhD in quantum optics in 2014, but immediately moved to data science. Why not physi

by stared 8y ago

Deep learning consulting ("I teach people to teach machines"). Finished my PhD in quantum optics in 2014, but immediately moved to data science. Why not physics? Full version: http://p.migdal.pl/2015/12/14/sci-to-data-sci.html http://p.migdal.pl/2015/12/14/sci-to-data-sci.html tl:dr: I wanted a fast-pasted field with more freedom. Physics is now stale (no fundamental changes in the last decades, compared to each year in deep learning; cf. physics in 1900-1920), and academia offers a rigid framework of grants and feudal dependence. In data science, as a freelancer/consultant, I get much more freedom. Even in companies, one is able to migrate in a matter of weeks, not years. Money was a nice perk, not anywhere near to the main motivation.

n4r9 8y ago
Hey, thanks for the link. I've had a vaguely similar path (quantum info PhD -> short software stint -> lectureship -> software/data job). Your list of benefits really resonated with me. For myself at least I would add job security as another benefit. I struggled in vain for 6-7 months during my lectureship applying to any and all postdocs I could find, so the prospect of cycling through 2-3 year postdocs in various locations eventually overwhelmed me. I loved the research but realised I didn't love it enough to potentially live apart from my partner and regularly go through months-long application processes. On the flip side, for me freedom is actually something I miss from academia. Admittedly that's partly because I'm a regular employee rather than a freelancer. Outside of teaching, my time was basically my own and I was free to work from home or anywhere else. I'm somewhat resentful of having to justify what I'm spending my time on day by day. Not that my manager would particularly mind if I spent a day researching something slightly blue-sky, but the fact that I might have to respond to questions about it creates this background tinge of anxiety that I find prevents deep creative thought.
deleted 8y ago
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by stared 8y ago

n4r9 8y ago

Hey, thanks for the link. I've had a vaguely similar path (quantum info PhD -> short software stint -> lectureship -> software/data job). Your list of benefits really resonated with me. For myself at least I would add job security as another benefit. I struggled in vain for 6-7 months during my lectureship applying to any and all postdocs I could find, so the prospect of cycling through 2-3 year postdocs in various locations eventually overwhelmed me. I loved the research but realised I didn't love it enough to potentially live apart from my partner and regularly go through months-long application processes. On the flip side, for me freedom is actually something I miss from academia. Admittedly that's partly because I'm a regular employee rather than a freelancer. Outside of teaching, my time was basically my own and I was free to work from home or anywhere else. I'm somewhat resentful of having to justify what I'm spending my time on day by day. Not that my manager would particularly mind if I spent a day researching something slightly blue-sky, but the fact that I might have to respond to questions about it creates this background tinge of anxiety that I find prevents deep creative thought.

deleted 8y ago

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