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What about pursuing a PhD if you aren't planning to stay in academia? Would its lack bar you from industrial R&D positions? Assuming we're talking about a Compu

What about pursuing a PhD if you aren't planning to stay in academia? Would its lack bar you from industrial R&D positions? Assuming we're talking about a Computer Science/Engineering discipline.

yodsanklai 3y ago
I would say it really depends. There are certainly specialized area where a PhD is important, but it's hit or miss. For instance, my team (in a big tech company) has people with very diverse backgrounds. Some tasks require more expertise, but most of the work will fit a generalist profile. Some teams who are more "researchy" have probably more PhDs. I feel doing a PhD gave me more time to learn things, while my current position is more fast paced and I can't afford to spend 2 weeks just learning new things. Financially, it didn't make sense to do a PhD. It's not even super clear what I learned is helpful now but I'm glad I've had this experience. It gave me a bit more perspective and culture of the field. I don't regret doing it. However, I regret going into academia. Being a professor didn't suit me for many reasons. I'm happier in industry.
hiddencost 3y ago
Get into the PhD, publish a paper, get internships, and then once you've gotten an internship with a group you're happy with, ask if you can drop out and join them.
drewg123 3y ago
Industry is more than willing to look past a lack of a degree given a good track record. Two of the smartest people I know didn't have undergrad degrees. One started as a lineman for AT&T, and learned programming by tending a computer in a field office, and worked his way up to working at some of the biggest tech companies. Your web browser uses technology he wrote (being cagey, as I'm not sure its commonly know that he doesn't have a degree). Even academia is willing to look past a lack of a degree for the right person -- my ex-wife's PhD advisor's advisor didn't have a PhD himself (but did foundational work in the field).
- fakedang 3y ago
  > Even academia is willing to look past a lack of a degree for the right person -- my ex-wife's PhD advisor's advisor didn't have a PhD himself (but did foundational work in the field). These seems like more than a generation ago. Things were very different back then. I think now attaining a PhD (or enrolling in one) is the first step towards even starting out in foundational research. Academia today seems to be more about restricting access to the Ivory tower, rather than democratizing it.

What about pursuing a PhD if you aren't planning to stay in academia? Would its lack bar you from industrial R&D positions? Assuming we're talking about a Computer Science/Engineering discipline.

yodsanklai 3y ago

I would say it really depends. There are certainly specialized area where a PhD is important, but it's hit or miss. For instance, my team (in a big tech company) has people with very diverse backgrounds. Some tasks require more expertise, but most of the work will fit a generalist profile. Some teams who are more "researchy" have probably more PhDs. I feel doing a PhD gave me more time to learn things, while my current position is more fast paced and I can't afford to spend 2 weeks just learning new things. Financially, it didn't make sense to do a PhD. It's not even super clear what I learned is helpful now but I'm glad I've had this experience. It gave me a bit more perspective and culture of the field. I don't regret doing it. However, I regret going into academia. Being a professor didn't suit me for many reasons. I'm happier in industry.

hiddencost 3y ago

Get into the PhD, publish a paper, get internships, and then once you've gotten an internship with a group you're happy with, ask if you can drop out and join them.

drewg123 3y ago

Industry is more than willing to look past a lack of a degree given a good track record. Two of the smartest people I know didn't have undergrad degrees. One started as a lineman for AT&T, and learned programming by tending a computer in a field office, and worked his way up to working at some of the biggest tech companies. Your web browser uses technology he wrote (being cagey, as I'm not sure its commonly know that he doesn't have a degree). Even academia is willing to look past a lack of a degree for the right person -- my ex-wife's PhD advisor's advisor didn't have a PhD himself (but did foundational work in the field).

fakedang 3y ago
> Even academia is willing to look past a lack of a degree for the right person -- my ex-wife's PhD advisor's advisor didn't have a PhD himself (but did foundational work in the field). These seems like more than a generation ago. Things were very different back then. I think now attaining a PhD (or enrolling in one) is the first step towards even starting out in foundational research. Academia today seems to be more about restricting access to the Ivory tower, rather than democratizing it.