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Ask HN: I'm interested in so many disciplines, but what can I do with that?

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Re: Ask HN: I'm interested in so many disciplines, but what can I do with that?

#241

Post by mylons »

nautilius wrote: post #232
alonsonic wrote: post #227

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Very insightful comment. Would you mind to explain why you disagree?

Because every single statement is wrong. > In the US, the thought is that if you're doing a PhD, say, it's a full-time professionalized pursuit You're still a student, still taking classes. > under the assumption you will be a professor; Simply not true, you could pursue all sorts of jobs. > in the rest of the world Do I really need to comment that? Hint: outside the US border, there is more than one country. Germany…

I’m mostly familiar with STEM PhD’s, and do not have one. However, my understanding is coursework is over once the PhD starts and you’ve earned a masters. You’re in the lab doing research on your thesis, and often teaching classes.

Re: Ask HN: I'm interested in so many disciplines, but what can I do with that?

#242

Post by krosaen »

nautilius wrote: post #221
agentcoops wrote: post #176

I'm very similar and would just give you two pieces of advice: (1) buy books compulsively and don't do your research predominantly online, and (2) make sure you write often, whether or not you publish your work or keep it to yourself. I think the latter is the most important advice for those trying to pursue an intellectual path outside of academia -- if you don't develop a habit of writing, you aren't really synthes…

> In the US, the thought is that if you're doing a PhD, say, it's a full-time professionalized pursuit under the assumption you will be a professor; in the rest of the world, a PhD is essentially an apprenticeship in writing under a mentor for however long it takes you, often with no aim (i.e. career) other than that writing itself. Couldn't disagree more with all of these statements.

What I do think is true:

In UK / Germany, a PhD can carry more of an apprenticeship feel with higher pay, compared to a US PhD where you are working for very little money compared to what you might make using your undergrad degree in industry.

But I share your disagreement that US PhD is intended to only lead to academia - it seems like it as often leads to:

- Paying ones way through grad school (you get a masters / course work out of it too). Dirty secret: you can bale on your PhD with a masters

- Corporate research (pays as well as anything)

- Corporate engineering job in environment where deep expertise is valuable

There's a pay bonus to having a PhD (at least in robotics) but the opportunity cost vs working in industry indicates to me that getting a PhD just for the credential / higher pay is not a good idea. Do it because you love to have more time to learn deeply and to conduct research. And know you have a lot of options should you want to go into industry - at any time - during your PhD if you drop out, or after.

(I say all this as someone without a PhD who's been working in research labs and among PhDs at companies for a while).

Re: Ask HN: I'm interested in so many disciplines, but what can I do with that?

#243

Post by paulsutter »

Bill Gates says that he can become enthusiastic about almost anything, so he chooses very deliberately. This can be very powerful, as we see.

Take a very close look at the way you move between interests. Did you move to a new interest based on enthusiasm? Or do you lose interest in the previous topic?

If you have the same flexibility as Bill Gates, why not choose to make the biggest impact you can, in the most practical fields possible?

Energy for example. Or water.

Re: Ask HN: I'm interested in so many disciplines, but what can I do with that?

#245

Post by jrochkind1 »

david927 wrote: post #237
superlopuh wrote: post #206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

https://technation.io/visa/

It's a scam.

say more?

(Also, it looks like it may not in fact be very easy to get a UK visa simply by being a software engineer?)

Re: Ask HN: I'm interested in so many disciplines, but what can I do with that?

#246

Post by nautilius »

mylons wrote: post #241
nautilius wrote: post #232

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because every single statement is wrong. > In the US, the thought is that if you're doing a PhD, say, it's a full-time professionalized pursuit You're still a student, still taking classes. > under the assumption you will be a professor; Simply not true, you could pursue all sorts of jobs. > in the rest of the world Do I really need to comment that? Hint: outside the US border, there is more than one country. Germany…

I’m mostly familiar with STEM PhD’s, and do not have one. However, my understanding is coursework is over once the PhD starts and you’ve earned a masters. You’re in the lab doing research on your thesis, and often teaching classes.

That's not accurate. 'ABD' (all but dissertation) [1] is an an important milestone because you are not typically done with coursework when starting out (in the US).

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_but_dissertation

Re: Ask HN: I'm interested in so many disciplines, but what can I do with that?

#247

Post by ericskiff »

As a personal experience share:

Consider becoming a consultant, either sharing your unique skills (marketing, programming, design, strategy) or if you don't have directly marketable skills, going to work for a larger firm and learning their process.

My partner and I started our (software development) consultancy because we wanted to LEARN. We wanted to work with lots of different founders on lots of different ideas. We wanted to know what made companies succeed and fail and how to avoid the classic failures.

In the years since, we've built nutrition apps, apps that help people manage end-of-life situations, 3d printing and scanning, made-to-measure clothing businesses, dog toy and cat food companies, social networks, real estate apps, a project that combined AI/ML and gaming, and a hundred more.

Between all the different projects and all the books we've read (we've also read dozens of business and self help books together over the past 10 years), we've grown and learned a tremendous amount. We've also built a business and a reputation that is now creating a fruitful future for us and the people who work with us.

Whatever you do, harness that love for learning and find a job that compensates you for being willing to dive into anything and get up to speed quickly. It's a rare passion and skill!

Re: Ask HN: I'm interested in so many disciplines, but what can I do with that?

#248

Post by sebastianconcpt »

You need to secure your source of resources.

Once you have that basis is fantastic if you can follow your natural curiosity to become a generalist. You go on and you'll eventually find your Logos [1].

One suggestion: map your ignorance.

That was very important for Aristotle. If your curiosity tells you something about a thing you ignore, make a node with it in your ignorance map and continue. You might not study all the nodes, but you'll know far better than most people the things you know and the ones you don't saving you of tons of bad decisions and words you would regret of having expressed (intellectual prudence).

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgVA6nXCj1U

Re: Ask HN: I'm interested in so many disciplines, but what can I do with that?

#250

Post by a_zaydak »

I see other people on here say this but I think it is so important that it can be said again. WRITE, WRITE, WRITE! As you read and learn I think it is so important to write. I suggest a mixture of notes, journal entries, and short essays. The more you do this the more your thoughts will gain clarity and you will see themes emerge from what you are doing.

As far as finding 'what to do with it'. I think that will develop over time as you talk with people about your interests. Share your writings as best as you can and join discussions. See if there are local MeetUp (or something similar) groups on the topics that you find most interesting. If so, join them and go to discussions. Ask if you can give short presentations on topics to the group. If you find a book or essay particularly interesting then send an email to the author.

Another trick that has worked for me; Some famous authors can be sometimes really hard to reach. But look at the work that they cite. Usually you will find some academic paper that they quote or reference. Look up the author / authors of those papers and read about them and contact them directly. Professors LOVE to talk about their work and usually (from my experience) they are happy to talk to people about their research who have read their papers. From those conversations you might find a path to a career or hobby that make you feel fullfilled. Enjoy the journey.

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