If you're in the US then you will need to wait a year at least for any new job opportunities related to science.
Ask HN: How do I bridge the gap between PhD and SWE experiences?
41–50 of 69 posts
Re: Ask HN: How do I bridge the gap between PhD and SWE experiences?
#42I have a PhD in a similar field to Earth Science and now I'm an engineering team lead at a company in a field related to my PhD. This is the second such role I've held like this and it was very much that I found a perfect position in both cases. I think a key part of being able to combine my domain and technical expertise in a single role was that the jobs were at startups where there's often the need for folks to wear multiple hats. That said, in the past decade since leaving academia I have perhaps seen a handful of such jobs. So, they do exist, but are few and far between, IME.
Re: Ask HN: How do I bridge the gap between PhD and SWE experiences?
#43My background was in grad level physics. Twice in my career I've actually gotten jobs that make use of my technical skills. Both times it was a big mistake. While the work was cool, the work environment was terrible (including pay).
Once you get used to being paid well for "easy" work, it's hard to put up with attitudes when you're getting paid less (or even the same) doing "hard" work. If you don't perform, your employment is at stake, and you'll realize there's value in having a job that you don't have doubts you can do.
Re: Ask HN: How do I bridge the gap between PhD and SWE experiences?
#44Maybe it's a bit on the nose, but Kobold Metals would probably appreciate both skill sets: https://koboldmetals.com/
Re: Ask HN: How do I bridge the gap between PhD and SWE experiences?
#45Don’t worry, SWE profession won’t really exist in 5 years as it currently stands
I thought AGI was 2027. Given it is a week from 2026 we only have 1 year left right?
Re: Ask HN: How do I bridge the gap between PhD and SWE experiences?
#46Did you do any serious simulations work? If so, machine learning. (PhD in mineral physics, staff ML engineer at a FAANG.)
Re: Ask HN: How do I bridge the gap between PhD and SWE experiences?
#47I have a multidisciplinary background as well, and always found it frustrating that everyone wants you to be one thing. Eventually I just started my own company, and now I’m using everything I know.
Re: Ask HN: How do I bridge the gap between PhD and SWE experiences?
#48As a hiring manager, if someone shared a profile of a person with a PHD in earth sciences and 8 years of “full stack” experience I’d immediately assume they were a generalist with surface level familiarity and no mastery or depth in any one area. I’d then look over the profile trying to disprove my assumption. Lacking a very strong signal in mastery of something, I’d pass on the profile. Only at small scales are full…
> Only at small scales are full stack engineers valuable.
Only if a software or integration problem is labeled neatly with the system and expertise required one can afford such thinking. Is the issue in the front-end, backend, gateways, middleware stack, network or compute? But even more dangerous are ‚valuable‘ narrow experts designing systems without awareness of the limitations in all other layers.
Re: Ask HN: How do I bridge the gap between PhD and SWE experiences?
#49I'm a military veteran; early on I pigeon-holed my precious life and training and focused on the needs of the markets and the roles I sought out.
I found this productive from a learning perspective, to prevent bias and trying to shoehorn a style that may not be optimal for the work.
Now after nearly a decade of work I have been able to bridge the gap for your alleged 'missing middle'.
This is where I diverge from your perspective; I take the personal growth and skill perspective to navigating my career. That is to say, I focus on solving the problems I want, researching what skills are most effective with an open mind that I may bring something novel from my past, and grow from there.
I think if you search for the PERFECT role leveraging your skills, you may wait a long time. Find a problem--artistic, commercial, or otherwise stimulating--that you would be willing to pursue in your free time. For me: this was video game development, however I forked my development from most paradigms circa 2003, and been reinventing many wheels for the sake of deeper knowledge.
You may be lucky to find a role which leverages everything you may find your personal skills are, but if a role isnt, dont discounts the principles it took to succeed at something as dema ding as a PhD.
I hope you find this perspective valuable!
Re: Ask HN: How do I bridge the gap between PhD and SWE experiences?
#50Keep reviewing niche businesses and industries.
I thought I’d never be able to bridge my specialties when I was younger - I just hadn’t put the puzzle pieces together yet.
Being willing to start your own thing can help a lot, too.