3 ms·

PhD in computer science.

rkalla 15y ago
Out of curiosity, why? The prestige (completely legit answer) or are there topics you want to cover in depth that the PhD program will provide? If so, which topics do you want to deep-dive on?
- olalonde 15y ago
  My thoughts as well, doing a PhD strikes me as a mean rather than an end.
  - rgbrgb 15y ago
    If research is not appealing then a PhD program is probably not right for you. For some, reaching the edge of human knowledge in a certain narrow subject and then perhaps pushing it a little further is very rewarding. I am completely appalled when I hear of PhD candidates who are in it for the title or whatever but my thought is that most of these don't make it to the end.
  - tsewlliw 15y ago
    Why does there need to be an end?
  - bbgm 15y ago
    I did a PhD (not in CS) because I wanted to understand a set of scientific problems in depth, do the research, understand setting up experiments, monitoring them, etc. There are other ways, but it takes 2-3 years of semi-structured work to wrap your head around some of these aspects. At the same time, it helps to understand what you like/don't like and try out new methodologies and areas of research. Not the only way to get there, but a very fun one.
- binarymax 15y ago
  I feel that there are certain aspects of cs that I really want to focus on for my own personal benefit. Sure I could study on my own (and do), but being in a program of pure laser focus for 3 to 5 years would be deeply rewarding for me. I would most likely study some fusion of cs and art. These days I don't feel like I have enough time to move fast enough. I am trying to get into gpgpu (via CUDA at the moment) and I need to get into hardware. Having the full time to do this, without needing to worry about financials with my current lifestyle, is my dream.
larsberg 15y ago
That's what I did after a nice stint at Microsoft, and it's amazing --- working on compilers is even _more_ fun than you'd think! But, there's always the gloom & doom at the end. Post-doc positions are easy to find, but there are very, very few academic research+teaching positions and competition is quite intense. Still, it's a great ride so far. And the worst-case "build compilers for a big bank" scenario isn't so terrible.

Out of curiosity, why? The prestige (completely legit answer) or are there topics you want to cover in depth that the PhD program will provide? If so, which topics do you want to deep-dive on?

olalonde 15y ago
My thoughts as well, doing a PhD strikes me as a mean rather than an end.
- rgbrgb 15y ago
  If research is not appealing then a PhD program is probably not right for you. For some, reaching the edge of human knowledge in a certain narrow subject and then perhaps pushing it a little further is very rewarding. I am completely appalled when I hear of PhD candidates who are in it for the title or whatever but my thought is that most of these don't make it to the end.
- tsewlliw 15y ago
  Why does there need to be an end?
- bbgm 15y ago
  I did a PhD (not in CS) because I wanted to understand a set of scientific problems in depth, do the research, understand setting up experiments, monitoring them, etc. There are other ways, but it takes 2-3 years of semi-structured work to wrap your head around some of these aspects. At the same time, it helps to understand what you like/don't like and try out new methodologies and areas of research. Not the only way to get there, but a very fun one.
binarymax 15y ago
I feel that there are certain aspects of cs that I really want to focus on for my own personal benefit. Sure I could study on my own (and do), but being in a program of pure laser focus for 3 to 5 years would be deeply rewarding for me. I would most likely study some fusion of cs and art. These days I don't feel like I have enough time to move fast enough. I am trying to get into gpgpu (via CUDA at the moment) and I need to get into hardware. Having the full time to do this, without needing to worry about financials with my current lifestyle, is my dream.

larsberg 15y ago

That's what I did after a nice stint at Microsoft, and it's amazing --- working on compilers is even _more_ fun than you'd think! But, there's always the gloom & doom at the end. Post-doc positions are easy to find, but there are very, very few academic research+teaching positions and competition is quite intense. Still, it's a great ride so far. And the worst-case "build compilers for a big bank" scenario isn't so terrible.