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Applying to PhD Programs in Computer Science (2014) [pdf]

cs.cmu.edu

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Re: Applying to PhD Programs in Computer Science (2014) [pdf]

#101

Post by pnathan »

bo1024 wrote: post #99
pnathan wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>. Did you get and keep old recommendation letters from your master's? Let's go with _nah_: at this point they'd be almost a decade old. It would be a measurement that is almost irrelevant to who I am today and my experience. I'm sure I can swing managerial recommendations etc, and it's not out of the equation that, at least at the local level, I could do some interesting volunteer work at the local U.

Remote collaboration is very common so I would email the best matches (once you’ve one background research) wherever in the world they are!

That's a great idea. :) I am too used to the "Grab a coffee" worldview.

Re: Applying to PhD Programs in Computer Science (2014) [pdf]

#102

Post by saeranv »

papeda wrote: post #85
_hardwaregeek wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Man, I just read through the memoir (it's a pretty engrossing read) and it's a ride. I really want a sequel though. Why/how did he end up back in academia? What do the other parties, e.g. Dawson, Margo, etc. think of these recollections? How far has he shifted his research? How different is it now that data science is such a pronounced field? I definitely feel like his tools anticipated stuff like Docker and data sci…

Not quite a sequel, but he recently gave more details on the post-phd transition here: http://pgbovine.net/one-weird-year.htm .

Interesting that he doesn't seem to debate or reconcile how painful he found working on his PhD, with his decision to rejoin academia. He makes the persuasive point that he doesn't have the freedom to pursue long-term research in the industry, but he documented all the trade-offs inherent in that freedom in 'The PhD Grind'.

Is it just that he's on the other side of the advisor-student power-balance? Or that he has the experience and skills to negotiate them better?

Re: Applying to PhD Programs in Computer Science (2014) [pdf]

#103

Post by papeda »

saeranv wrote: post #102
papeda wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not quite a sequel, but he recently gave more details on the post-phd transition here: http://pgbovine.net/one-weird-year.htm .

Interesting that he doesn't seem to debate or reconcile how painful he found working on his PhD, with his decision to rejoin academia. He makes the persuasive point that he doesn't have the freedom to pursue long-term research in the industry, but he documented all the trade-offs inherent in that freedom in 'The PhD Grind'. Is it just that he's on the other side of the advisor-student power-balance? Or that he has th…

IIRC, one reason his PhD was so hard is he spent a bunch of time working in a grind-it-out field (automated bug-finding) with an advisor who was sort of an outsider in the field. That's a recipe for a ton of hours spent on the wrong stuff with little agency. He only pivoted toward his current focus on HCI, learning, visualization, etc incidentally near the end of his PhD.

Since he's now familiar with and known in his chosen area, he may honestly be able to say to his students "I can help you do meaningful and rewarding research".

(Of course, I dunno what the actual story is.)

Re: Applying to PhD Programs in Computer Science (2014) [pdf]

#104

Post by saeranv »

papeda wrote: post #103
saeranv wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interesting that he doesn't seem to debate or reconcile how painful he found working on his PhD, with his decision to rejoin academia. He makes the persuasive point that he doesn't have the freedom to pursue long-term research in the industry, but he documented all the trade-offs inherent in that freedom in 'The PhD Grind'. Is it just that he's on the other side of the advisor-student power-balance? Or that he has th…

IIRC, one reason his PhD was so hard is he spent a bunch of time working in a grind-it-out field (automated bug-finding) with an advisor who was sort of an outsider in the field. That's a recipe for a ton of hours spent on the wrong stuff with little agency. He only pivoted toward his current focus on HCI, learning, visualization, etc incidentally near the end of his PhD. Since he's now familiar with and known in his…

That seems right, the advisor/subject-matter/interest mismatch seems to be at the core of a lot of his struggle.

Re: Applying to PhD Programs in Computer Science (2014) [pdf]

#106

Post by _hardwaregeek »

saeranv wrote: post #102
papeda wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not quite a sequel, but he recently gave more details on the post-phd transition here: http://pgbovine.net/one-weird-year.htm .

Interesting that he doesn't seem to debate or reconcile how painful he found working on his PhD, with his decision to rejoin academia. He makes the persuasive point that he doesn't have the freedom to pursue long-term research in the industry, but he documented all the trade-offs inherent in that freedom in 'The PhD Grind'. Is it just that he's on the other side of the advisor-student power-balance? Or that he has th…

I kinda viewed it as a "the grass is grayer on the other side". Like he tried the other side, realized it wasn't that great either and went back.
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