4 ms·
If you really have a PhD level understanding of the topic, you could probably try to prove that in an interview. You have to seriously ask yourself, is that tru
by alanctgardner2 13y ago
If you really have a PhD level understanding of the topic, you could probably try to prove that in an interview. You have to seriously ask yourself, is that true? Reading papers in your spare time isn't dedicating years of your life to that topic. I can read CS Master's and PhD theses, and even give feedback, but that doesn't mean I could do research at that level. I'm working with a PhD in maths right now, and he is completely on another level; it's not just the technical knowledge to be able to read and understand papers, he's also immersed in the field to the extent that he has strong opinions and ideas about current research.
I guess my question is, if you love this field so much, why not do your PhD? Dedicate a whole bunch of time and effort to actually becoming an expert in this field, make a significant contribution by publishing papers. Then you'll know you're qualified, and you'll already have gotten to do the job.
On a side note, what field is this exactly? There's a big difference between wanting to do stats for machine learning, and wanting to write control systems for nuclear power plants.
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]
- Fomite 13y agoThe first bit is important: What people imagine a PhD is, and what a PhD actually is, are often disjoint. "Really, really likes the subject, and reads a lot" is necessary but not sufficient.
- marme 13y agothe problem is at the majority of institutions you will not get the phd experience you are expecting. Most of phd work is doing what your professor tells you until he decides you have essentially apprenticed him long enough that you can graduate. If you really enjoy your subject you will become a master of the topic but just as many people go through the motions just enough to graduate but dont really care that much about their subject and end up being bad researchers
- ylem 13y agoI have to comment on this--my advisor told me very early on not to become a technician--to understand what I was doing and why. At least in physics, the usual pattern is to give a student a project to work on--as they advance, they gain more independence. Sadly, some people never reach this stage...
- rtpg 13y agothink that depends on the field though. At least in CS, the experience seems to have been a lot more open.