3 ms·

As another STEM PhD data scientist who is thinking of pivoting back into academia at some point, do you have specific examples of the kinds of jobs that are ava

As another STEM PhD data scientist who is thinking of pivoting back into academia at some point, do you have specific examples of the kinds of jobs that are available that would welcome and benefit from industry DS experience? Perhaps teaching DS or computer science?

mellosouls 6y ago
I think that any reputable academic department would welcome industry experience depending on the context; I can't give specific examples without searching (e.g. on portals like academicpositions.com). And certainly teaching with your background sounds like a strong possibility if it appeals. More generally, I would say that the key would be to target roles and teams that cross the boundary between pure research and software engineering, which could vary from straight research software engineer roles - with say, "machine learning" or tech associated with data science (e.g. "jupyter") as an example of what you might search for in key skills and keyword filters; or by generally investigating the support roles within academic institutions because that can be a backdoor way in. Naturally the closer the research to your specific experience the stronger your application would be. One way outside of the normal job search platforms you can identify those gaps is to keep an eye on conferences (especially during the present time while they are online) and the communities they serve and (e.g. if you are a coder) the most widely used code libraries as referenced in academic papers; apart from giving you an idea of where your skills might plug a gap they offer scope for networking in the former case. Sorry to be vague/obvious or responding to a different question, but I don't have specific examples to mind, this is just what I have seen actually working as a strategy into data science-related roles in similar institutions with people without your enhanced qualifications (stem phd and industry data science experience).
- borroka 6y ago
  There are a few fields in which there is movement academia to industry to academia, that is there is a permeable academia-industry barrier. Say, computer science and adjacent fields, business/economics if we include business schools, medicine, but hospitals can also be research centers. For the vast majority of other fields, if you move to industry, they (academia) are not interested in you anymore. Yes, there are some exceptions like that flight attendant who survived after falling out of the plane at I don't know how many feet of altitude, but in my research field (one the life sciences) I have yet to see someone moving back to academia after having left to go work in industry. First, they (academia) do not want you anymore, you are simply expired. Second, as one faculty when I was a postdoc said: we would like to ask researchers who moved into the private sector how life is out there, but they never came back to tell us. And, I must add, it is easy to guess why: as soon as one gets some distance from the academic world (and I guess, from most worlds, but let's stay focused on academia), they see that when researchers are not making ground-breaking work, they are just doing some work, not better or worse than many others that requires passion and dedication, pay little, and leave you like snow in the summer sun when you are not needed anymore. Recently, someone in academia told me: when you are tired of industry, you can try to get back into academia, maybe as a professor of practice. Like, for 1/3 of the money and 3 times the annoyances? I would much prefer to open a pizzeria and I don't eat pizza.
bumby 6y ago
Not too long ago, I interviewed for a ML position for a large oncology organization. I didn’t get the gig, but I find the healthcare field to be a rewarding application of CS/DS skills. Plus, you rub elbows with a lot of academia if you plan on going back.

mellosouls 6y ago

I think that any reputable academic department would welcome industry experience depending on the context; I can't give specific examples without searching (e.g. on portals like academicpositions.com). And certainly teaching with your background sounds like a strong possibility if it appeals. More generally, I would say that the key would be to target roles and teams that cross the boundary between pure research and software engineering, which could vary from straight research software engineer roles - with say, "machine learning" or tech associated with data science (e.g. "jupyter") as an example of what you might search for in key skills and keyword filters; or by generally investigating the support roles within academic institutions because that can be a backdoor way in. Naturally the closer the research to your specific experience the stronger your application would be. One way outside of the normal job search platforms you can identify those gaps is to keep an eye on conferences (especially during the present time while they are online) and the communities they serve and (e.g. if you are a coder) the most widely used code libraries as referenced in academic papers; apart from giving you an idea of where your skills might plug a gap they offer scope for networking in the former case. Sorry to be vague/obvious or responding to a different question, but I don't have specific examples to mind, this is just what I have seen actually working as a strategy into data science-related roles in similar institutions with people without your enhanced qualifications (stem phd and industry data science experience).

borroka 6y ago
There are a few fields in which there is movement academia to industry to academia, that is there is a permeable academia-industry barrier. Say, computer science and adjacent fields, business/economics if we include business schools, medicine, but hospitals can also be research centers. For the vast majority of other fields, if you move to industry, they (academia) are not interested in you anymore. Yes, there are some exceptions like that flight attendant who survived after falling out of the plane at I don't know how many feet of altitude, but in my research field (one the life sciences) I have yet to see someone moving back to academia after having left to go work in industry. First, they (academia) do not want you anymore, you are simply expired. Second, as one faculty when I was a postdoc said: we would like to ask researchers who moved into the private sector how life is out there, but they never came back to tell us. And, I must add, it is easy to guess why: as soon as one gets some distance from the academic world (and I guess, from most worlds, but let's stay focused on academia), they see that when researchers are not making ground-breaking work, they are just doing some work, not better or worse than many others that requires passion and dedication, pay little, and leave you like snow in the summer sun when you are not needed anymore. Recently, someone in academia told me: when you are tired of industry, you can try to get back into academia, maybe as a professor of practice. Like, for 1/3 of the money and 3 times the annoyances? I would much prefer to open a pizzeria and I don't eat pizza.

bumby 6y ago

Not too long ago, I interviewed for a ML position for a large oncology organization. I didn’t get the gig, but I find the healthcare field to be a rewarding application of CS/DS skills. Plus, you rub elbows with a lot of academia if you plan on going back.