Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!bloom-beacon!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!cwjcc!alpha.ces.cwru.edu!pjd
From: pjd@alpha.ces.cwru.edu (dr. funk)
Newsgroups: comp.edu
Subject: More on advanced degrees
Message-ID: <388@cwjcc.CWRU.Edu>
Date: 13 Jan 89 16:17:37 GMT
Sender: news@cwjcc.CWRU.Edu
Reply-To: pjd@alpha.ces.cwru.edu (dr. funk)
Organization: digital systems research group/CWRU
Lines: 53


Thanks, Gerald, for your reply...

> If you have good research it doesn't really matter where you get your
> degree --- quality results get published (with rejections it's easier on the 
> ego to assume that reviewers are prejudiced in some way; if you are truly 
> afraid of this, then ask for a blind review).  

No disagreement here WRT journal publication. In fact, journals probably
are the only place you can get a good quality review these days! I'm appalled
at the poor quality of conference reviews (both rejects and ACCEPTANCES!)
Conference committees tend to be more personality-driven.

Where I disagree is in the production of the good research. If you are a
theoretician who only needs a pad of paper and a pencil (:-), you can crank
out very good research and get into print as an unknown. Experimental people
need resources and must jump across the funding hurdle much sooner. In the
design environment/hardware CAD world these days, it's tough. You must
compete against "centers of excellence" (read that "big name") who have
more resources for implementation. A single investigator and a handful of
students is severely disadvantaged.

For a guy applying for his/her first research grant, the quality of the
credential is often the sole criteria for judging "investigator qualifications"
or competence. "Why should I give money to somebody without a track record --
just 'cuz he has a good idea?" Reviews of my first NSF proposal ranged from
"I know and trust this guy" -- probably somebody who knew me personally --
to "who is this naive clown."

[For all those folks who know me, I don't have too much to complain about
'cuz I did jump the right hurdles. It wasn't a day at the beach tho'.]

> The few really big name schools likely don't produce most of the published
> research (scan through the last 24 months of IEEE or ACM journals and check
> the author affiliations). although, i suppose this depends on how
> "big name" is defined.

Pretty much ditto again. Conference program committees tend to favor the
"home club," however. Since their job is getting poeple to submit and then
choosing submissions after review, they tend to have more influence than
journal reviewers/editors. 

> Having a friend on the inside will always get your CV moved to the
> top of the pile, no matter what school you graduated from.

No doubt about it. An employer is really taking a chance when hiring an
individual. A degree is a "Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval" from some
relatively impartial group of people with some kind of standards. A former
colleague, supervisor, etc. who has seen you in action is the best
credential (or deterrent :-) 'cuz the risk is lower.

paul j. drongowski               usenet: {decvax,sun,att}!cwjcc!pjd!pjd
case western reserve university  csnet:  pjd@alpha.ces.cwru.edu