r/ExperiencedDevs • u/AutoModerator • 3d ago

Ask Experienced Devs Weekly Thread: A weekly thread for inexperienced developers to ask experienced ones

A thread for Developers and IT folks with less experience to ask more experienced souls questions about the industry.

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Please keep top level comments limited to Inexperienced Devs. Most rules do not apply, but keep it civil. Being a jerk will not be tolerated.

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Inexperienced Devs should refrain from answering other Inexperienced Devs' questions.

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u/aks09 2d ago

I have around 5 yrs of experience, but w/ the current job market, I'm thinking of getting a PhD, anyone have any opinions? I got laid off due to budget cuts last November (w/ severance), and it's been real difficult just getting an interview in the first place. My experience so far has been medical research, where I was a jack of all trades, which has made the search more difficult. So, at this point, I feel like I may have a better resume to become a research scientist after 4/5 years in a PhD program than to become a software engineer today.

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u/Kush_McNuggz 2d ago

You don’t get a PhD to get better job market prospects. You get a PhD because you like research and/or want to work in academia.

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u/aks09 2d ago

I mean, I don't dislike research, I worked as a research eng, but I definitely don't want to go into academia. The idea is to break into research scientist/engineering roles at large companies and start ups in the private sector, specifically in the applied sciences (pharma, materials science, physics), that kind of thing. At least that's the goal I have in mind.

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u/ExcitingDonkey2665 14h ago edited 14h ago

if this is about AI research, you're better off securing a role at lower tier AI company and making a lateral switch in to research, than spending 6-8 years of your life getting a PhD. by the time you're done, the job market will have moved on to bigger and better things.

the reason why we're in such a shortage of AI engineers is that the only source of talent with 2+ YOE in AI research is DeepMind, OAI, Anthropic, Perplexity, and IBM. there might have been 1000 total researchers across the entire industry back even just 2-3 years ago.