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!
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?