What is a PhD Really Good For?: Thoughts from New(er)
From Anita Borg Institute Wiki
WHAT IS A PHD REALLY GOOD FOR?: THOUGHTS FROM NEW(ER) GRADS Location: Quandary Peak I - II Panelists: Stefanie Tomko (Microsoft), Jennifer Beckmann (Microsoft), Renée Bryce (University of Utah), Jhilmil Jain (HP Labs), Laura Tomokiyo (Carnegie Mellon University) This panel will provide personal insights and discussions on career paths upon completion of a computer science graduate program. We will talk about factors that influenced our career path choices, what we really like about our current positions, and what?s been challenging in our positions and in the transition from school. We will also include a discussion of the option to move from a research-focused degree to a product-focused position.
Unofficial notes:
Stefanie opens. She’s working at Microsoft, was interested in seeing an alternative to Ph.D.->academia. Her thesis was in spoken dialog systems, hired as a program manager. Her typical day: Lots of meeting time, email, writing and reviewing specs.
After Ph.D. job offers: start-up, automotive research lab, Microsoft Exchange group. Start-up a little too uncertain, research lab had poor health insurance. Microsoft sounded good.
Says having a Ph.D. gives you street cred (apparently there’s differences of opinion on this point, looking forward to hearing about it). Product group can have lower salaries than a research position. So negotiate to the top of your range. Product management “great if you think giving talks & posters is one of the best parts of grad school.”
Jennifer, thesis in database management systems. Joined Microsoft SQL server management tools team. Didn’t go into grad school assuming professorship as an end, saw Ph.D.s in industry and thought it was valuable there. Wanted to go into industry to see her stuff have an effect in the real world. Has enjoyed that aspect of the job. Ph.D. gave her experience presenting, so she feels free to volunteer for whatever presentation opportunities that arise.
Renée is Assistant Professor. Her thesis was on software testing. Actually went for Ph.D. in order to be a professor. Chose diverse committee so they could ask hard questions as prep for applying for positions. Didn’t apply to so many universities (probably should). Two-body problem took two years to work out. As AP has role statement giving estimate of how much of your time is spent on research/teaching/service---“just like being a student you have different cycles in the semester”. Likes being around students---a positive, exciting time in their lives. Challenging but lots of opportunities.
Jhilmil research engineer at HP labs. Thesis on HCI and statistics. Minor in statistics tremendously useful for HCI analysis. Family expectations towards getting a Ph.D. “You either become an engineer or you become a doctor.” Wanted to make new contributions, so that really is either through academia or research lab => get a Ph.D. Asked her faculty to let her teach a full-term course, then interned. Loved the internship, especially HP labs. Recommends doing multiple internships at different locations to make yourself marketable. Lets you apply what you’re learning to real problems. 35% of her time is in meetings, 35% in research. Little bit of brainstorming, writing papers, coding. Would like to have fewer meetings.
Laura [missed her start] First job was with a start-up. Fun, but unstable. Regularly didn’t get paycheque. Moved to something more stable. Project Scientist at CMU Robotics Institute. Not tenure-track, but “can do most of the things that professors can do.” Need a faculty sponsor. Lots of opportunity to connect outside the university. Hard to connect (at least in this case) with her own faculty. Average day heavy in communication because of wide-flung coworkers. Some working in schools with students. Lots of work with funding. No research and no speech, which was what her prior work and thesis was. Wanted to get in-depth with funding, marketable to both academia and industry.
In absentia Kathrin Probst - product group. “In grad school it’s easy to believe that academic (or at least industrial research) is the only acceptabl eand respectable path. Not true!” Your Ph.D. is not a waste if you don’t go into academia.
Ariadna Font Llitjós - search engine start-up “defended her Ph.D. while she was two months pregnant and started her job while 8 months pregnant. There’s really no right time to plan the whole ‘having a baby’ thing.”
Q: Changing universities---what are the repercussions of moving shortly after taking a job? A: Renée---Was worried about a black mark, but it worked out okay. “If you’re not happy move on.”
Q: Worried about having too theoretical a Ph.D., will that shut out of industry jobs? A Jhilmil---Have options in industry jobs. Don’t think you’d be shut out. A: Stefanie---Depends on your specific area. [Theory of AI] “I feel like there are product groups that would value that experience.”
Q: Can’t a Ph.D. be a hindrance? Make you overqualified? A: Jennifer---Yes, in the interview, can be. Be honest about why you’re going for what you are. And can be an advantage once you’re in the door. Q: Does having a Ph.D. actually help you do your job better? A: Jennifer---Yes. No necessary, in that other people without a Ph.D. do it, but find it really helps. Especially with
Q: Internships---really important, even though it takes a long time? Can I get one if my background is really theoretical? A: Jhilmil---Yes!! Can be helpful balancing theoretical thing, very important.
Q: I’m going to be old. I want to have kids during my Ph.D. Is that going to be a disadvantage? A: Laura---yes, you’ll be able to go back. Not necessarily easier to have children during grad school rather than work. But there’s always room for skilled people. A: Stephanie---yes, older going back. A lot of people are younger, but can say it was worth it. “What have I been doing all this time? it’s just your life and it works out. . . . In the end . . . who cares what time you started?” A: Renée---can work to have kids at grad school. Need a support structure (Utah has great resources). A: Stephanie---not every is supportive. So look for that.
Q: Internships with children? Possible to balance? A: Depends. Talk to people, find out what kind of things they have. Q: Would it be a disadvantage to bring it up? A: To recruiters, probably not. Will ask actual recruiters.
