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In Physics it's not unusual to start a PhD in a sub-discipline that you've got little experience in (I realize the author works more on the information theory s

In Physics it's not unusual to start a PhD in a sub-discipline that you've got little experience in (I realize the author works more on the information theory side of things). When I started my PhD in experimental quantum computing I had experience with superconductivity and low-temperature physics but none with qubit design or high-frequency RF system design. It's the point of a PhD to learn about these things and get qualified to do your own research afterwards (e.g. as a PostDoc).

ProjectArcturis 4y ago
Yeah, but at least your PI should know about your field. This is a really weird article and weird PhD experience.
- newswasboring 4y ago
  Advisors also have to start somewhere. There will always be a first PhD student who works on something everyone has only vague ideas about. I have worked with such students and they are genuinely a different kind of person from other PhDs. They require little to none guidance and have very strong opinions on how to do their work. I believe OP was a poor choice for this position.
- deleted 4y ago
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- ModernMech 4y ago
  The author is probably leaving out a lot of context. Seems to me they joined a program without really thinking about who they would work with, and then when they finally thought to look they were shocked to discover there was no one they’d like to work with. Schools offer this kind of acceptance path for students who aren’t very strongly tied to a particular idea. The author, despite having no experience or knowledge in QC was very tied to the idea, which how would the faculty know that before admitting them? Usually when you are so devoted to a research idea you’ve worked on it to some degree before deciding to devote 10% of your life toward pursuing it. I’ve never seen a student quit in 6 months because they couldn’t make progress on an idea they had only just started to consider.

ProjectArcturis 4y ago

Yeah, but at least your PI should know about your field. This is a really weird article and weird PhD experience.

newswasboring 4y ago
Advisors also have to start somewhere. There will always be a first PhD student who works on something everyone has only vague ideas about. I have worked with such students and they are genuinely a different kind of person from other PhDs. They require little to none guidance and have very strong opinions on how to do their work. I believe OP was a poor choice for this position.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
ModernMech 4y ago
The author is probably leaving out a lot of context. Seems to me they joined a program without really thinking about who they would work with, and then when they finally thought to look they were shocked to discover there was no one they’d like to work with. Schools offer this kind of acceptance path for students who aren’t very strongly tied to a particular idea. The author, despite having no experience or knowledge in QC was very tied to the idea, which how would the faculty know that before admitting them? Usually when you are so devoted to a research idea you’ve worked on it to some degree before deciding to devote 10% of your life toward pursuing it. I’ve never seen a student quit in 6 months because they couldn’t make progress on an idea they had only just started to consider.