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[D] - People here who mastered out of their PhDs, do you regret it? How has your life been after that? (alien.top)

submitted 1 year ago by llmlift@alien.top to c/machinelearning@academy.garden

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Hi everyone. I'm a third-year Ph.D. student doing ML-related research and have no publications so far. I do have a couple of ongoing projects that will lead to first-author papers in the next few months. I'm also at a point where I think mastering out and getting a job might be a better option. But I also worry that I might regret not getting a Ph.D. I love research but I feel the academic environment is not a good fit for me. I just want to hear from people who were in a similar position as me. Did you stick through your PhD or did you master out? How has the life been after that?

I started my PhD straight out of my undergrad so I didn't get any industry experience. So I've been thinking that getting a job with my master's and spending some time in the industry could be a good option. Then I can return back to grad school if I still have that urge. Or I can simply brave through my current situation and just get a PhD and then work in the industry. Any opinions are welcome!

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[–] reddstudent@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago (2 children)

OP, I am one of the more experienced and knowledgeable recruiters. I don’t want to dox myself but there’s a good chance my network is representative of your target jobs market.

I will echo what others have said: New Grad hiring is not an active activity in the top ML projects, as in, there is no headcount for entry level positions almost anywhere.

Where you start your career matters more than most people think. There is absolutely a career inertia that is very difficult to break out of in a career trajectory.

I would recommend waiting until the market has returned so that you can choose between a number of options, instead of taking the hard fought roll-the-dice opportunity today. It will pay long term dividends.

[–] H2O3N4@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago

I'd love your input given your experience.

I am in a slightly different situation, having graduated with a masters a year ago and worked in a university research lab since. Now, I'm out of the lab and trying to stay afloat on contracting work. What's your perspective of maintaining career intertia in the coming years while still paying the bills? Is there any options for recent grads w/o industry experience, perhaps not directly in an MLE/research scientist role? Am I SOL and have to find a job outside ML to pay the bills? If I do, am I screwed on making it back into ML?

[–] llmlift@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago

Thank you so much for your insights as a recruiter! :) I’ll stick through it.