So I did a PhD in Comp. Engineering (with emphasis on survivable distributed systems) & worked in R&D for 10+ years before switching to more development/advocacy focused roles. I've also interacted/worked with diverse people in academic, industry, startup & community careers in the past two decades.
My opinions below are based on that experience.
1. Don't do a graduate/postgraduate degree for the sake of doing one.
Grad school has lots of benefits but also involves a lot of work, time and energy. So before diving in, you want to be sure you know why you are doing it, and what you want to get out of it or you will burn out and feel frustrated.
In hindsight, I wish I'd gone into the real-world and worked first with a few diverse startups or companies in "emerging" industry domains so I could get a better sense of where the challenges & opportunities were. I would have made different choices (e.g. courses I took, topics & problems I tackled, people I collaborated with) if I had realized that consumer-focused work (ubiquitous computing, behavioral sciences) was more to my liking than enterprise (reliability engineering).
2. Focus on choosing the right advisor/group to work with, not on the university.
It's counter-intuitive at first, but will make sense when you think it through. Advisors shape the way you think (about tackling problems), the impact you have (with your research) and the networks you build (in collaborative projects, funding sponsors, and lab alumni).
If a university provides 10X name recognition in the general sense, a good advisor will provide 100X name recognition in the specific field of your research. Plus, you will learn that smart & driven advisors will find a way to succeed in any environment, are often more likely to attract other smart students/investors to their research, and have strong alumnus networks of their own (often in the universities or companies you favor) that will serve you well in your long-term career.
3. Sometimes picking a strong advisor in a non-traditional university will work in your favor.
They not only have more time/drive to focus on that research group, but they will have a better shot at getting funding, visibility and impact within that region. And, inevitably, as they rise in their field they will have options to move to other universities (taking their research groups with them) or work with relevant industry, government and academic collaborators on impactful projects.
Yes, grad school is expensive, time-consuming and stressful - but it has undoubtedly had the greatest influence on HOW I think through problems in a rigorous and innovative way thanks to advisors, collaborators and resources that I had access to while there.
And that is a skill that has long-term career value.
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So I did a PhD in Comp. Engineering (with emphasis on survivable distributed systems) & worked in R&D for 10+ years before switching to more development/advocacy focused roles. I've also interacted/worked with diverse people in academic, industry, startup & community careers in the past two decades.
My opinions below are based on that experience.
1. Don't do a graduate/postgraduate degree for the sake of doing one.
Grad school has lots of benefits but also involves a lot of work, time and energy. So before diving in, you want to be sure you know why you are doing it, and what you want to get out of it or you will burn out and feel frustrated.
In hindsight, I wish I'd gone into the real-world and worked first with a few diverse startups or companies in "emerging" industry domains so I could get a better sense of where the challenges & opportunities were. I would have made different choices (e.g. courses I took, topics & problems I tackled, people I collaborated with) if I had realized that consumer-focused work (ubiquitous computing, behavioral sciences) was more to my liking than enterprise (reliability engineering).
2. Focus on choosing the right advisor/group to work with, not on the university.
It's counter-intuitive at first, but will make sense when you think it through. Advisors shape the way you think (about tackling problems), the impact you have (with your research) and the networks you build (in collaborative projects, funding sponsors, and lab alumni).
If a university provides 10X name recognition in the general sense, a good advisor will provide 100X name recognition in the specific field of your research. Plus, you will learn that smart & driven advisors will find a way to succeed in any environment, are often more likely to attract other smart students/investors to their research, and have strong alumnus networks of their own (often in the universities or companies you favor) that will serve you well in your long-term career.
3. Sometimes picking a strong advisor in a non-traditional university will work in your favor.
They not only have more time/drive to focus on that research group, but they will have a better shot at getting funding, visibility and impact within that region. And, inevitably, as they rise in their field they will have options to move to other universities (taking their research groups with them) or work with relevant industry, government and academic collaborators on impactful projects.
Yes, grad school is expensive, time-consuming and stressful - but it has undoubtedly had the greatest influence on HOW I think through problems in a rigorous and innovative way thanks to advisors, collaborators and resources that I had access to while there.
And that is a skill that has long-term career value.