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Conversely: if you’re a depressed AI researcher: come on over to science, the water’s fine! We have centuries worth of open problems that are not going to be so

Conversely: if you’re a depressed AI researcher: come on over to science, the water’s fine! We have centuries worth of open problems that are not going to be solved by ChatGPT, and need more smart technical people than we can hire.

api 4y ago
The problem is usually that science can't pay even a fraction of what you can make in industry right now, and meanwhile the good science jobs are often in high cost of living places.
- SuoDuanDao 4y ago
  I really think we need a UBI so that people who want to can afford to do science how many drug addicts less motivated to quit is a scientist less motivated to maximize clicks worth? It's gotta be more than zero.
  - nradov 4y ago
    No thanks. I'm not willing to pay higher taxes just so that we can have a few more academics doing low-value AI research.
    - SuoDuanDao 4y ago
      what about a few more Charles Darwins doing high-value research on whatever interests them?
CuriouslyC 4y ago
What an opportunity! I get to spend most of my time writing grant proposals, compete with 30 other associate professors for 1 tenure track job, then when I get tired of that I can switch to a marginal wage industry job because AI researchers are the only scientists that get good compensation as a group, and the 28 other people who didn't get that tenure position are probably also trying to do the same thing (thus depressing wages)? Sign me up /s.
- sseagull 4y ago
  While true, there's more to academia that professors. There's a growing number of research scientists (particularly in software), as well as positions national labs (if you count that as pseudo-academia). There's also lots of room in applying AI techniques to other areas of science (again, outside of professorships)
  - dmd 4y ago
    Yep. But we get paid at academic rates. I stay for the relaxed lifestyle, not the salary.
    - hyperbovine 4y ago
      Then this post is not aimed at you, obviously.
      - hyperbovine 4y ago
        Sorry, replied to wrong thread. :|
jebarker 4y ago
When you say "come over to science", where are you thinking? My impression is that industry -> academia is an almost impossible jump to make. Do you mean industry doing science?
- hyperbovine 4y ago
  I'm talking about working in a lab as a staff programmer. Most PIs I know, myself included, would absolutely kill to be able to hire experienced people from industry to write high-quality scientific code for them. The problem is that a) traditionally, it has been hard to get funding for this, though that's slowly starting to change, and b) even when the money is there, it's always going to be a fraction (1/2, often less) of what that person could make in industry.
  - Gooblebrai 4y ago
    First time I heard about this "staff programmer" title working in labs. Looking for it in UK job boards doesn't seem to bring many relevant results. What are other ways to find these roles? The idea of working in a lab helping scientists, if not economically rewarding, may feel rewarding in terms of helping science to progress
    - WastingMyTime89 3y ago
      To give you a counterpoint to what the scientists trying to lure you are giving you, being a "staff programmer" basically means you will be paid half what you should be to go work in an environment with no process and no engineering culture where you will be seen and treated as an inferior by everyone as you are not a "proper" researcher and academia is extremely status driven.

api 4y ago

The problem is usually that science can't pay even a fraction of what you can make in industry right now, and meanwhile the good science jobs are often in high cost of living places.

SuoDuanDao 4y ago
I really think we need a UBI so that people who want to can afford to do science how many drug addicts less motivated to quit is a scientist less motivated to maximize clicks worth? It's gotta be more than zero.
- nradov 4y ago
  No thanks. I'm not willing to pay higher taxes just so that we can have a few more academics doing low-value AI research.
  - SuoDuanDao 4y ago
    what about a few more Charles Darwins doing high-value research on whatever interests them?

CuriouslyC 4y ago

What an opportunity! I get to spend most of my time writing grant proposals, compete with 30 other associate professors for 1 tenure track job, then when I get tired of that I can switch to a marginal wage industry job because AI researchers are the only scientists that get good compensation as a group, and the 28 other people who didn't get that tenure position are probably also trying to do the same thing (thus depressing wages)? Sign me up /s.

sseagull 4y ago
While true, there's more to academia that professors. There's a growing number of research scientists (particularly in software), as well as positions national labs (if you count that as pseudo-academia). There's also lots of room in applying AI techniques to other areas of science (again, outside of professorships)
- dmd 4y ago
  Yep. But we get paid at academic rates. I stay for the relaxed lifestyle, not the salary.
  - hyperbovine 4y ago
    Then this post is not aimed at you, obviously.
    - hyperbovine 4y ago
      Sorry, replied to wrong thread. :|

jebarker 4y ago

When you say "come over to science", where are you thinking? My impression is that industry -> academia is an almost impossible jump to make. Do you mean industry doing science?

hyperbovine 4y ago
I'm talking about working in a lab as a staff programmer. Most PIs I know, myself included, would absolutely kill to be able to hire experienced people from industry to write high-quality scientific code for them. The problem is that a) traditionally, it has been hard to get funding for this, though that's slowly starting to change, and b) even when the money is there, it's always going to be a fraction (1/2, often less) of what that person could make in industry.
- Gooblebrai 4y ago
  First time I heard about this "staff programmer" title working in labs. Looking for it in UK job boards doesn't seem to bring many relevant results. What are other ways to find these roles? The idea of working in a lab helping scientists, if not economically rewarding, may feel rewarding in terms of helping science to progress
  - WastingMyTime89 3y ago
    To give you a counterpoint to what the scientists trying to lure you are giving you, being a "staff programmer" basically means you will be paid half what you should be to go work in an environment with no process and no engineering culture where you will be seen and treated as an inferior by everyone as you are not a "proper" researcher and academia is extremely status driven.