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From: shimeall@cs.nps.navy.mil (Tim Shimeall)
Newsgroups: soc.college,comp.edu,misc.jobs.misc
Subject: Re: Academia vs. Industry (for CS PhDs)
Summary: Not many jobs
Message-ID: <1094@cs.nps.navy.mil>
Date: 13 Jul 90 23:27:54 GMT
References: <9518@hacgate.UUCP>
Reply-To: shimeall@cs.nps.navy.mil (Tim Shimeall)
Organization: Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey CA
Lines: 31

(Note: I don't speak for the Naval Postgraduate School, nor the
Computer Science Dept. thereof, nor am I on the recruiting committee
of that department.)

First, be aware that the academic market for CS Ph.D.s is tightening
rapidly.  In 1982, there were about 7 academic jobs open for every
Ph.D. that graduated (based on the Snowbird report).  In 1990, many
departments have hundreds of Ph.D. applicants for every open position.
Many of the top schools are not hiring any longer, and the second and
third tier schools are filling rapidly.  In short, unless you are an
exceptionally talented student in a rare-but-needed speciality, you
may have a VERY hard time getting an academic job.

I chose academia over industry for several reasons:
  + I wanted to set my own research agenda, and thought my research
     ideas interesting enough to be funded (true, thus far.)
  + I wanted to teach.  Don't underestimate the sheer fun of getting
     students to understand hard concepts, and introducing them to new
     ways of looking at the world.
  + I liked the freedom to travel and share information with other 
     researchers that academic folks have, but industrial folks often don't.
  + I did not want to deal with a profit-oriented company structure
     (I'm not denigrating such structures -- they're needed; but I just
      preferred to avoid them.)
The particular school I ended up at (the Naval Postgraduate School)
fit my desires almost perfectly.  (I'll edit out a testimonial to the
school -- suffice it to say that this is a VERY nice place for a young
CS Ph.D.)
					Tim
Disclaimer: The above is strictly a personal opinion and is not
binding on any person or organization.