> I've started applying to private companies that do ML research (OpenAI, Meta, DeepMind, NVIDIA, etc.) If you want to do research at a top company, yes, you p

> I've started applying to private companies that do ML research (OpenAI, Meta, DeepMind, NVIDIA, etc.) If you want to do research at a top company, yes, you probably need one. Or at the very least you need to somehow compete with other people who have relevant PhDs. It's still kind of risky because who knows where the goalposts will be by the time you finish your PhD.