EPTDon't become a scientist - Page 2
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Osmoses
Sweden5302 Posts
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KOFgokuon
United States14908 Posts
The life of an academic is not one that I envy. I just don't have the drive to do it. If you come from a top notch department (MIT, stanford, berkeley, cal tech, UIUC, whatever) then you won't have a problem getting a faculty position, consulting jobs, engineering jobs whatever, but I feel for people who end up getting Ph.D's at lower notch schools and struggle to find positions | ||
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orgolove
Vatican City State1650 Posts
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Robinsa
Japan1333 Posts
On May 16 2010 09:26 orgolove wrote: KoF, are you from an ivy? CHEs becoming consultants... how does that work? Having a proper engineerng degree makes you able to pretty much anything. From what Ive seen its much harder to get a leading position in an economy department with an economy degree opposed to a physics degree. | ||
thedeadhaji
39489 Posts
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thedeadhaji
39489 Posts
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Catyoul
France2377 Posts
I have a PhD in physics. Even in the beginning, I knew right away I didn't want to continue in academia after finishing it. But that's not why I was doing it anyway. After completing it, I completely switched fields to computer programming, without even doing a postdoc. Now I work in a cool high-tech company, on the development of an operating system for embedded applications and I'm super happy. I might start one myself in the next few years. If you're looking at it from a purely finanical point of view, I don't think the years of PhD will ever pay for themselves in the form of better salaries, but that's not everything. Ultimately, it was a stimulating experience because I had the great luck of being in the right lab with the right people on an interesting subject and it contributed to my intellectual development, which is really all I could have asked for. Back to the article. In my mind, its emphasis should be : the academia structure is rotten (for the major part, there are plenty of exceptions obviously). If you want to be a scientist in the true sense, you might be better off pursuing that in another environment. Just because it's the social norm that science should be done by pursuing an academic career in an environment rotten by money doesn't mean that a) YOU have to do it there b) it's still the best environment that it once was. Time is wasted like crazy on getting funds and grants to keep doing the research. Subjects that would otherwise be great to study are put aside because they are not the best funds catchers. The same deadend subjects, that sometimes have been proven dry, just get rehashed again and again just because they're safer and guaranteed to get funded. The system just doesn't work anymore. Well, technically it works in its own perverted way... to get popular and safe subjects research money, but it doesn't serve the aim of Science with a big S anymore. | ||
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Sadistx
Zimbabwe5568 Posts
It's a trend that exists in literally every job category that exists. | ||
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ZeaL.
United States5955 Posts
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jjun212
Canada2208 Posts
i was taking a history course for some pre requisite and the teaching assistant who was a phd student was making a joke about applying for a part time job at starbucks but they turned him down because they already had enough phd students' resumes.. lol anyway, i just saw on the news, some guy with a phd from MIT was the ceo of some company trying to get cars to run on water/electricity.. oOooOOoOOoo | ||
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weeeee
Australia71 Posts
User was temp banned for this post. | ||
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BlueApex
63 Posts
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Cri du Chat
Germany606 Posts
You don't do it because you want to make money, you don't do it because you want an 8 hour job. People expect you to be commited to your work. If you can get into the industry, for example pharma research or something like that, then it is a little bit different, but you still won't get rich. On May 16 2010 09:49 weeeee wrote: scientists make me pissed anyway What an irony that you type that on a computer invented by scientists. | ||
Smix
United States4549 Posts
Interesting... | ||
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lowbright
308 Posts
On May 16 2010 09:39 Catyoul wrote: The author makes good points in the article. A little digression first before getting to that though. I have a PhD in physics. Even in the beginning, I knew right away I didn't want to continue in academia after finishing it. But that's not why I was doing it anyway. After completing it, I completely switched fields to computer programming, without even doing a postdoc. Now I work in a cool high-tech company, on the development of an operating system for embedded applications and I'm super happy. I might start one myself in the next few years. If you're looking at it from a purely finanical point of view, I don't think the years of PhD will ever pay for themselves in the form of better salaries, but that's not everything. Ultimately, it was a stimulating experience because I had the great luck of being in the right lab with the right people on an interesting subject and it contributed to my intellectual development, which is really all I could have asked for. Back to the article. In my mind, its emphasis should be : the academia structure is rotten (for the major part, there are plenty of exceptions obviously). If you want to be a scientist in the true sense, you might be better off pursuing that in another environment. Just because it's the social norm that science should be done by pursuing an academic career in an environment rotten by money doesn't mean that a) YOU have to do it there b) it's still the best environment that it once was. Time is wasted like crazy on getting funds and grants to keep doing the research. Subjects that would otherwise be great to study are put aside because they are not the best funds catchers. The same deadend subjects, that sometimes have been proven dry, just get rehashed again and again just because they're safer and guaranteed to get funded. The system just doesn't work anymore. Well, technically it works in its own perverted way... to get popular and safe subjects research money, but it doesn't serve the aim of Science with a big S anymore. Do you feel that your time would have been put to better use if you had decided to go into computer programming from the beginning instead of obtaining your Ph.D.? | ||
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Shizuru~
Malaysia1676 Posts
is this true in other parts of the world as well i wonder... | ||
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Luddite
United States2315 Posts
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Kenpachi
United States9908 Posts
On May 16 2010 09:54 Smix wrote: Wow, he's a professor at my school lollol. I wonder if my friends have had him as a teacher. Interesting... that is fucking awesome lol This was an interesting read. But im an idiot so im sorta confused about what jobs are a nono to go into academia (like what type of scientists) | ||
micronesia
United States24757 Posts
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Plexa
Aotearoa39261 Posts
On May 16 2010 10:01 Shizuru~ wrote: an insightful article indeed... is this true in other parts of the world as well i wonder... I wonder this as well. | ||
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