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A.I. Researchers Are Making More Than $1M, Even at a Nonprofit

nytimes.com

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Re: A.I. Researchers Are Making More Than $1M, Even at a Nonprofit

#151

Post by endymi0n »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #137
bonniemuffin wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

More importantly, why did I bother to finish grad school?

To not have situations like I did. I've almost done my masters - I finished all the courses, but did not submit my graduate thesis in time - so I have what we call "absolutorium", i.e. finished the program without pursuing a degree. The other day, a friend from my alma mater wanted me to come and do a semester of programming classes as an "industry consultant". It was all arranged properly and I was getting ready wit…

To be honest, the academic field is about the only field in which it perfectly makes sense to finish a degree, I mean, what else can you boast with if you have none?

The other three reasons are visa (proof of "ability"), wanting to work in government (if you really, really want that) or early-stage startups that need Ivy-League credentials for their investors, because they don't have anything else to offer.

Other than that, as a software engineer in the private industry, nobody will care about any of your degrees.

Re: A.I. Researchers Are Making More Than $1M, Even at a Nonprofit

#152

Post by jasonkester »

It's sad that the comments here mostly fall into a few categories:

- "This is only a few people, so not something that could affect the rest of us"

- "Those people had a specific skill, so the rest of us couldn't possibly make that much"

- "This is only happening in the Bay Area, so anybody living anywhere else shouldn't expect to make that much"

It's maddening. How about, instead, when we see another datapoint showing how ridiculously valuable we developers are to employers and our potential earning power, we talk about how to get one of those million dollar salaries. Because that is in fact doable, and this article highlights just one of the many ways a smart guy in his 20s could position himself so as to be making that million dollar salary within the next few years.

That would be much more productive than trying to prove to everybody that the market does in fact only ever pay $70k/year because that's what you see on that Java job ad on Monster.com.

This is a reality that developers need to take on board. And sadly, most people here are actively fighting against doing so. To their detriment.

Re: A.I. Researchers Are Making More Than $1M, Even at a Nonprofit

#153

Post by gaius »

matte_black wrote: post #126
bonniemuffin wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

More importantly, why did I bother to finish grad school?

If you drop out of grad school is there a way to prove you were ever actually even in grad school? Or can anyone say they were in grad school but just didn’t finish?

There is something I see on LinkedIn from people I happen to know never graduated: they list the years they were at university and their subject. It’s not technically lying, and most people never notice.

Re: A.I. Researchers Are Making More Than $1M, Even at a Nonprofit

#154

Post by libdjml »

jasonkester wrote: post #152

It's sad that the comments here mostly fall into a few categories: - "This is only a few people, so not something that could affect the rest of us" - "Those people had a specific skill, so the rest of us couldn't possibly make that much" - "This is only happening in the Bay Area, so anybody living anywhere else shouldn't expect to make that much" It's maddening. How about, instead, when we see another datapoint showi…

I applaud the positive spin, but the responses are due to the headline which suggests these salaries are normal.

If an article said “supermarket checkout clerks are earning over $1m” and the article explained that a couple of retired property investors decided to work at a supermarket, would you respond the same?

The harsh reality is, very few people will have the tenacity, intelligence, and opportunities to become a top 20 AI researcher, especially in their 20s.

Re: A.I. Researchers Are Making More Than $1M, Even at a Nonprofit

#156

Post by prance »

endymi0n wrote: post #151
TeMPOraL wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To not have situations like I did. I've almost done my masters - I finished all the courses, but did not submit my graduate thesis in time - so I have what we call "absolutorium", i.e. finished the program without pursuing a degree. The other day, a friend from my alma mater wanted me to come and do a semester of programming classes as an "industry consultant". It was all arranged properly and I was getting ready wit…

To be honest, the academic field is about the only field in which it perfectly makes sense to finish a degree, I mean, what else can you boast with if you have none? The other three reasons are visa (proof of "ability"), wanting to work in government (if you really, really want that) or early-stage startups that need Ivy-League credentials for their investors, because they don't have anything else to offer. Other tha…

Well, I care, to some extent. Like many other things, it can be used as a filter. At the least, lacking other demonstrable evidence (such as open source or industry experience which can be confirmed by referrals), a finished master or PhD shows that someone is able to finish a non-trivial project.

Re: A.I. Researchers Are Making More Than $1M, Even at a Nonprofit

#157

Post by badpun »

jasonkester wrote: post #152

It's sad that the comments here mostly fall into a few categories: - "This is only a few people, so not something that could affect the rest of us" - "Those people had a specific skill, so the rest of us couldn't possibly make that much" - "This is only happening in the Bay Area, so anybody living anywhere else shouldn't expect to make that much" It's maddening. How about, instead, when we see another datapoint showi…

> How about, instead, when we see another datapoint showing how ridiculously valuable we developers are to employers and our potential earning power, we talk about how to get one of those million dollar salaries.

In the case of the original article, those million dollar salaries go to researchers, not to developers. I haven't heard about developers making a million a year.

Re: A.I. Researchers Are Making More Than $1M, Even at a Nonprofit

#158

Post by kafquaesque »

libdjml wrote: post #154
jasonkester wrote: post #152

It's sad that the comments here mostly fall into a few categories: - "This is only a few people, so not something that could affect the rest of us" - "Those people had a specific skill, so the rest of us couldn't possibly make that much" - "This is only happening in the Bay Area, so anybody living anywhere else shouldn't expect to make that much" It's maddening. How about, instead, when we see another datapoint showi…

I applaud the positive spin, but the responses are due to the headline which suggests these salaries are normal. If an article said “supermarket checkout clerks are earning over $1m” and the article explained that a couple of retired property investors decided to work at a supermarket, would you respond the same? The harsh reality is, very few people will have the tenacity, intelligence, and opportunities to become a…

Agreed. At the same time—believing one can do something is something that can help people continue to be persistent when it doesn’t come right away? It gives a goal even if never achieved. I never made it to the Olympics but I did become a scholarship-college athlete by dreaming of being an Olympian(hopefully this doesn’t seem boastful). I like to know who the people are at the top of their game. It’s a good way to measure how much I may be able to improve. I can create a gap-analysis of how to get there.

Re: A.I. Researchers Are Making More Than $1M, Even at a Nonprofit

#159

Post by cocoablazing »

alexbeloi wrote: post #65
malux85 wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's 800 credit card transactions a second --- thats people making deposits into their accounts to bet with. (btw I think that's peak - I'm not 100% sure) The frontends (where the casino / betting games run) do a lot more than this, but they work against the balance in the account, it's the payment gateway that's doing 800/s

Why does a payment gateway need deep learning? I can't imagine an online betting system doing fraud detection on deposits.

Perhaps for anti-money laundering compliance.

Re: A.I. Researchers Are Making More Than $1M, Even at a Nonprofit

#160

Post by chillydawg »

opsiprogram wrote: post #55
malux85 wrote: post #2

Not unusual for people at the top of their game. I just turned down a 2M a year offer, and I have a friend who is making 2.9M USD. It's just a value proposition, he makes the company a lot more than 2.9 million a year, and when you negotiate you negotiate on value (and not on time) then you can justify these salaries.

What is considered to be "top of game" in deep learning in your experience... does that apply to just researchers like Ian Goodfellow who come up with completely novel methods for ML algorithms, or does it extend as far as people who are just using the methods that others developed effectively or in new ways? I know thats a weird question, but I am planning on looking into deep learning jobs after finishing my (MS) c…

I think a smart, hard working person who re-uses modern results from others well and in potentially new ways can create a vast amount of value. Short term, more than the top guys, as a lot of their work may be speculative, and yours would be getting-it-done. Long term, they'll invent some method that leaves you in the dust, but that's fine, just learn that too!
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