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From: stank@orca.TEK.COM (Stan Kalinowski)
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng,misc.jobs.misc
Subject: Re: American Programmer (What's a Ph.D. worth?)
Message-ID: <2524@orca.TEK.COM>
Date: 3 Apr 88 23:23:41 GMT
References: <555@psu-cs.UUCP> <1434@ur-tut.UUCP> <3415@bunker.UUCP> <3326@zeus.TEK.COM> <461@vsi.UUCP> <5775@bunny.UUCP> <2218@ttidca.TTI.COM> <5388@utah-cs.UUCP>
Reply-To: stank@orca.UUCP (Stan Kalinowski)
Organization: Tektronix, Inc., Wilsonville, OR
Lines: 50

In article <5388@utah-cs.UUCP> shebs%defun.utah.edu.UUCP@utah-cs.UUCP (Stanley T. Shebs) writes:

>Based on my recent experience in jobhunting, equating a PhD with however
>many years it took you to get it is quite common.

I think industry equates the time to earn a degree with equivilent
time in the field because it is looking for results.  Having a PhD
does not necessarily guarantee results, having a good track record of
results usually does.  Industry tends to lay blame on our educational
system.  The hiring policy makers say that PhD's with no industry
experience have difficulty making the transition from theoretical
science to applied science and that PhD's don't know how to translate
ideas into dollars.  The following observation might illustrate what
I'm getting at:

A couple of years ago I read an article in the Sunday New York Times
that said PhD's in Artificial Intelligence graduating from a leading
school could earn something like $70,000.  The article said that the
starting salary was so inflated because of high demand for, and a
small supply of Ai PhD's.  I take this to mean that industry has spent
a great deal of money on developing AI expertise.  So far, I haven't
heard of any companies reaping an acceptable gain on their investment
in AI technology.  AI has been applied mostly to internal systems
development having only limited cost saving value.  The few comercial
products that use AI technology have met with only limited success.
Perhaps it's too soon to tell, but it seems that in these days of
"quick buck" business investment the AI PhD's have not been able to
convert their knowledge into bottom line bucks.

Who's to blame?  Industry says that the fault lies with the
educational system for not teachiing students how to apply technology
profitably.  Educational institutions blame industry for not providing
enough financial support for education, for not fostering creative
application of ideas, and for expecting too much from technology.

The only conclusion I can make from all this is: IF WE DON'T CHANGE
THE WAY WE ARE DEVELOPING AND MARKETING TECHNOLOGY WE WILL ALL LOSE!

<< DISCLAIMER >>

The above opinions are my own, and are not necessarily representative
of the company I work for (Tektronix).  Please don't FLAME me if you
diasgree with my analysis.  I have merely stated my current opinion
and I am open to calm, open-minded, discussion of these issues.  I can
even be persuaded to change my opinions when given a resonable counter
argument.
-- 
US Mail: Stan Kalinowski, Tektronix, Inc.	
         Information Display Group, Graphics Workstations Division
         PO Box 1000, MS 61-028, Wilsonville OR 97070   Phone:(503)-685-2458
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