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The thing that disappoints me about the aspirations of being a researcher is that the goal is to get paid to study AI, not solve real-world problems. I would r

The thing that disappoints me about the aspirations of being a researcher is that the goal is to get paid to study AI, not solve real-world problems. I would rather build a small company by solving a real problem than work for a big company spinning my wheels.

currymj 7y ago
for a lot of people who end up in research-type jobs, a sense of curiosity is one of their strongest motivators, and they want work that will let them pursue their curiosity. it sounds like you're motivated by something else.
- bluetwo 7y ago
  Well yes, I am very curious, just more motivated to solve problems.
hogFeast 7y ago
Why I didn't go into academia but GL convincing other people of the value in that. I am sure there are cultural differences here but where I am, the goal of most people who study CS is: leave me alone while I mess about with X (evidence: the local college was doing speech processing/nlp in the 60s, they actively turned down paid work...unsurprisingly, they got left in the dust, professors are now being encouraged into doing commercial work but, of course, most of it is totally nonviable and is just more messing about with complex nonsense that doesn't work). I think if you look at history this is also evident: the inventions of the late 18th century were a function of necessity, the invention of semis (not just in the US but how Taiwan developed)...this isn't to say academia is pointless but there is just far more going on (I think if you look at some of the East Asian nations that get great academic results, their progress on actual R&D innovation is far less impressive).
- ssivark 7y ago
  (American) Academia is a complicated matter, so I’ll elide commenting on that. For a thoughtful counterpoint to the necessity argument, see: https://jnd.org/technology_first_needs_last/ https://jnd.org/technology_first_needs_last/ (previously discussed on HN)

currymj 7y ago

for a lot of people who end up in research-type jobs, a sense of curiosity is one of their strongest motivators, and they want work that will let them pursue their curiosity. it sounds like you're motivated by something else.

bluetwo 7y ago
Well yes, I am very curious, just more motivated to solve problems.

hogFeast 7y ago

Why I didn't go into academia but GL convincing other people of the value in that. I am sure there are cultural differences here but where I am, the goal of most people who study CS is: leave me alone while I mess about with X (evidence: the local college was doing speech processing/nlp in the 60s, they actively turned down paid work...unsurprisingly, they got left in the dust, professors are now being encouraged into doing commercial work but, of course, most of it is totally nonviable and is just more messing about with complex nonsense that doesn't work). I think if you look at history this is also evident: the inventions of the late 18th century were a function of necessity, the invention of semis (not just in the US but how Taiwan developed)...this isn't to say academia is pointless but there is just far more going on (I think if you look at some of the East Asian nations that get great academic results, their progress on actual R&D innovation is far less impressive).

ssivark 7y ago
(American) Academia is a complicated matter, so I’ll elide commenting on that. For a thoughtful counterpoint to the necessity argument, see: https://jnd.org/technology_first_needs_last/ https://jnd.org/technology_first_needs_last/ (previously discussed on HN)