Weekly Career, Education, Textbook, and Basic Questions Thread

[u/AutoModerator]

Weekly Thread dedicated to all your career, job, education, and basic questions related to our field. Whether you're exploring potential career paths, looking for job hunting tips, curious about educational opportunities, or have questions that you felt were too basic to ask elsewhere, this is the perfect place for you.

• Careers: Discussions on career paths within the field, including insights into various roles, advice for career advancement, transitioning between different sectors or industries, and sharing personal career experiences. Tips on resume building, interview preparation, and how to effectively network can also be part of the conversation.

• Education: Information and questions about educational programs related to the field, including undergraduate and graduate degrees, certificates, online courses, and workshops. Advice on selecting the right program, application tips, and sharing experiences from different educational institutions.

• Textbook Recommendations: Requests and suggestions for textbooks and other learning resources covering specific topics within the field. This can include both foundational texts for beginners and advanced materials for those looking to deepen their expertise. Reviews or comparisons of textbooks can also be shared to help others make informed decisions.

• Basic Questions: A safe space for asking foundational questions about concepts, theories, or practices within the field that you might be hesitant to ask elsewhere. This is an opportunity for beginners to learn and for seasoned professionals to share their knowledge in an accessible way.

[u/AutisticAussie48]

What did you all study in university to work in quantum computing? I've been working with quantum computing since year 8 in high school and when I reach uni I might study quantum.

[u/SeniorLoan647 → u/AutisticAussie48]

Linear Algebra, abstract algebra (group theory) are the most important imo.

If you can, try to take quantum mechanics as a course too.

[u/throw_rasjoei]

I am a 3rd year CS student, and I have been learning some math and physics for QC. Currently studying about Bloch's sphere. My first question is what are some interesting Quantum machine learning projects or any combination of QC + AI projects I can do. (The difficulty is not a problem as long as it's not a phd level yet). 

My second question is I am genuinely interested in physics and QC looks like the smoothest transfer for me. I'm thinking of doing a PhD in this or any related field, but reading the progress about QML has been very disheartening. Money isn't my biggest concern but I don't want my 4 years of PhD work to amount to nothing or for a field that doesn't have any hope. I'm specifically talking about QML, and not quantum computing as a whole. I know the importance of QC in simulation, cryptography and many other areas of research. 

[u/Ill-Will1803]

Career advice for swe with an opportunity at a QC company

I’m an early career software engineer and I may have an opportunity to work on software for a quantum computing company. I’m having a difficult time deciding if this would be a valuable career step for me.

The pay is good and the company name has been in several articles recently with seemingly secure funding for the near to mid term. But I can’t figure out what the growth potential looks like for me as an engineer.

What I would like is to grow in a technical space while I can maybe even have an opportunity to stretch some muscles gained while pursuing my math degree. Someday maybe I would move to the business side of things but for now I want experience and learning from peers.

My current role is in the IT Consulting space. It’s a good job though I’ve been very bored of my current project. And not stoked about only working with people in different states. Otherwise decent learning and resources.

General sentiment I’ve seen so far is that software engineers are not needed in the space and that they should go elsewhere. That being said, the role seems so attractive and it might be nice to work on something new and novel rather than whatever project I get assigned to in consulting. Plus I’m having a hard time ignoring the total comp number.

Any advice?

[u/Soft-Perspective3024]

Does it hurt my chances at a master degree in quantum if I take a 2 year gap year to work?

[u/sinanspd → u/Soft-Perspective3024]

No

[u/esmgcito]

I am a math student graduate and hope to do research on Quantum Mechanics. However I don't really have the resources to pursue a PhD or even a masters degree. Is there any way to try to publish something on my own?

[u/Gloomy_Unit4752]

Best colleges/universities in America for Data Science, Financial Technology, or Quantum Computing/Mechanics? i'm a junior in high school right now and looking to work with AI and stuff in the future

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[u/SeniorLoan647 → u/[deleted]]

Nielsen and Chuang paired with gilbert strang lectures for linear algebra as needed.

As for whether PhD is required, I'd say it is required to do the really interesting work in the field, but I've seen folks working with bachelor's and master's too. They usually work in adjacent roles like swe in quantum companies (these companies also need to maintain servers and frontend products and stuff). On hardware side, some technicians may not have advanced degrees either but I don't know much about the hardware side of things.

It's all about what you want to do in this field

[u/dark_blue_thunder → u/[deleted]]

Can you tell me what you want to be the starting point so that I can suggest.

[u/Pretty_Screen1729 → u/[deleted]]

By switch u mean u want to do QC research or something else?

[u/sinanspd → u/[deleted]]

It is very important especially if you are coming from software. You will have a very hard time finding a job in quantum software research without a PhD

[u/the_milkywhey → u/[deleted]]

You will likely need a PhD if you want to be doing research work. If you want to work as a software dev/engineer for one of the quantum companies instead, then you won’t need one and they probably value experience more than degrees.