This stratagem is far from unknown in academia, but perhaps a bit trickier to execute, though of course it is de rigueur if you fail to get tenure. This unspoken but universally understood metric encompasses such factors as whom you've trained with, where you've published (and how much), and what recent results of yours are on everyone's lips. If you're impatient, you might be thinking of industry as a way to short-circuit that long haul. Despite recent bad press, bonus systems are often part of the equation, and depending on your entry point they may constitute a significant percentage of total compensation. Academia vs. Government Labs: A comparison. As noted above, mergers are times of upheaval, carrying both risk and opportunity, and usually a period in limbo as well. While you may not relish extending your indentured servitude in academia, any disadvantage, financial and otherwise, can quickly be made up in the early years of your career in industry. “Computer Science, Software Engineering and Information Systems are international qualifications, enabling students to work globally, and in a very broad variety of roles. Mentoring students 6. No, Is the Subject Area "Salaries" applicable to this article? Overall, though, the industry trend has been to shrink R&D, and this may well continue through a round of consolidation, with several mega-mergers now under way. Professional topics. here. Applying for grants 2. Finally, you may have more specific needs to consider, such as a spouse also in need of a job. Now that I have been scooped (), I suppose it’s time. By the same token, the academic side has at one extreme the research powerhouses, where you will be judged by volume of grants, and at the other the teaching institutions, which may not even have graduate departments. One of the most significant decisions we face as scientists comes at the end of our formal education. An important question, surprisingly often overlooked, is how you want to actually spend your time, day by day and hour by hour. The Computer Science major offers preparation for computing careers in business, government, education, and industry as well as for graduate school. Industry … If you thrive more under structured expectations, academia would be better for you, for although industry has all the trappings of long-range strategies and career planning, the highly reactive environment means these are more honored in the breach. End of year appraisals. In taking stock of your needs, and perhaps those of your family, a decent living … If you love the language, consider science journalism, either writing or editing—Science and Nature have large staffs, and you will often encounter them and representatives of other journals at the same scientific meetings you attend. Finally, try to keep some perspective. Computing education. Whether universities will respond proportionately with faculty hiring, given the losses in their endowment funds and cutbacks in salaries and discretionary spending, remains to be seen. Competing interests: The author has declared that no competing interests exist. In academia, diverging from the Specific Aims of a grant may be a problem when the time comes to renew, but the risk is yours, as is the reward. On the other hand, flexibility is more the hallmark of academic research, where you will have the opportunity to follow wherever the science leads, once you are running your own shop. While your stardom may be less taken for granted in industry, my feeling is that academia is a better near-term choice in such circumstances. The days are long past when bioinformaticists were in such short supply that any qualification would do. A life at the frontiers of knowledge? Computing education programs. Industry may also be seen as more friendly towards women, and an easier place to establish oneself than academia. ... they will seek out new challenges. Yes Is the Subject Area "Careers" applicable to this article? The Computer Science Department at Vsk University on Academia.edu It depends on what kind of job you take in industry. Fame? However, many outlets have identified a talent gap in data science, with industry and academia facing challenges in recruiting data scientists that have the skills to address their needs. If you game these scenarios with various probabilities, and use your imagination, it just might become clear which ones you have no stomach for, and which ones really hold your interest. People are often interested and even surprised in my transition from working in the tech industry to academia. Industry offers forms of compensation unavailable in academia, and you will need to consider how to value them relative to your present and future needs. Not surprisingly, some personality types are better-suited to one environment or the other. Learning to manage is much more hit-or-miss in academia; opportunities to lead large organizations are rare (and to manage them actively rather than by consensus, rarer still). Being a star certainly helps, so don't be afraid to negotiate. I think industry is the better choice right now. Raw ambition can be viewed as unseemly in either case, but there is more latitude for it in industry, and greater likelihood of being recognized and rewarded sooner if you are “on the go.” In fact, one of the clearest differences between academia and industry are their respective time constants. As I've suggested, the choice you face is far more fine-grained than simply that between industry and academia. While some women who are already in academia think the flexibility make the balancing act easier, that perception is not present so much among graduate students who have yet to make that choice. Academia will try to accommodate them as a community, while on the other hand business (particularly large, diversified companies) may have resources to address them that you wouldn't have expected. It is not impossible to return to academia from industry, particularly if you were already quite prominent when you left, but if you start your career in industry you may be at a disadvantage unless you go to great lengths to maintain an academic-style publication record and CV. I had been planning a post on industry vs. academia for a while, but kept putting it off. If you have a knack for business, many management consulting firms have scientific and technical consulting arms that value Ph.D.s and offer intensive training opportunities, and, though it may not be attractive at the moment, a career as a financial analyst specializing in biotech is yet another possibility. There is steady growth in demand for technically adept and flexible IT graduates. Company politics, I would hazard to say, are more transparent—the maneuvering more open and the motives more apparent. Industry vs Academia To conduct this survey, The Scientist invited 1800 readers via E-mail to respond to a web-based survey form. Another homily: Now, if ever, is the time to be honest with yourself. The two-body problem has always been tougher in academia than in industry, and probably always will be. First, the obvious. I had to go to great lengths to prove myself….The most difficult situations were when we were brought in to bail out a late project. Check the industry newsletters and blogs, albeit with a grain of salt, to get a sense of the mood around R&D units (not to be confused with manufacturing, sales and marketing, or other divisions, which may have completely different cultures within the same company). No competing interests exist transition from working in the social order and not finesse the question of moving between and. Profitable lure of industry is the better choice right now vs. industry for. 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