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What do you think all those new CS professors want after earning their PhD? What about the PhDs that join the big-tech research labs? Why do you think they join

• aogaili 5y ago
  I personally think that people motives are multi factorial. It is simplistic to project societal values on a group of people, especially the CS professors and PhDs, many of which are introverted and lead a quiet and simple lives. They engage in those programs because it is more aligned with their temperaments and personalities, as why joining big-tech research, because that is where the cutting-edge research is being done. Sure the prestige and money might follow, but for some it is more of a pleasant side effect than the ultimate goal. As an anecdote, I had a math university who was riding the public transport daily beside me, he was so simple and approachable that looking at him and his lifestyle you will never think he makes money or teaching at uni, yet his brain was sharp and his passion to mathematics was clear once he starts teaching. He is too "smart" to occupy his mind with status and vanities of life beyond his basic needs. Note that I'm not dismissing that many do those things for status and money but I tend to believe that a lot of the leaders in those areas do it because they can.