Comment by diarrhea | Hacker News Reader

Comment by diarrhea | Hacker News Reader

I will hand in my notice tomorrow, after circa 1 year as a PhD student. In fact, I'm switching fields: from a PhD in Mechanical Engineering (energy systems) to a software developer role in a non-engineering sector. Very little of my 7 years (MSc) and subsequent circa 1 year as a PhD will carry over.

Certainly an exciting step, although the program here was pretty excellent. Good supervision, full funding for the entire duration, topic of my choosing (I wrote parts of the grant).

The main reason I'm leaving is that Mech.Eng. PhDs just seem like such a conservative bunch. Most end up either in tiny, provincial ventures (think utilities companies, for my field) or as middle managers at huge companies (where I live, car manufacturers). They then are, for all intents and purposes, managers and not engineers anymore. The title is the ticket to a cushy life. Academia was never an option; the kind of work professors and researchers do seems horrendous! You're chasing grants and need to manage such a wide range of the most frustrating but also mundane issues.

Here's to hoping a software development career is more fruitful and fulfilling. A life-long IC position seems attractive. You get the benefits, but little of the fuss.

It seems like PhDs are sought after (if they are) for their frustration tolerances and project management capabilities. Maybe I didn't have enough of either. Then again, I'm absolutely convinced many more would quit prematurely if they had attractive alternatives. A lot of mechanical engineer PhDs don't, but thanks to the software world and my passion for it, I do.

Software is a good choice.

However, you will still be dealing with some project management and other similar workplace-related tasks that contribute nothing to the overall work product.

I made a similar decision as a former engineer in the physical realm. I would say normal engineering is about 90% 'fluff' work related to corporate traditions. In tech, it is more like 75%.

The only workers who truly focus only on their work are blue-collar workers. If that is what drives you, there are plenty of interesting trade jobs and fabrication jobs where people just solve problems day-in day-out and don't have to worry about dressing up or being diplomatic.

Your face when in 5 years you find yourself in project management: >:0

"We've found you to be so good at your job we want you to stop doing that job and do something with an almost mutually exclusive skill set."

"It's difficult to take direction from someone who doesn't know (or can't explore) the problem space as well as I do. I find I'm managing up so much that there seems less and less benefit to the current reporting structure I find myself in."

How often do people complain themselves into a new post?

Absolutely possible. The difference might be that PhDs don't conventionally have the 'downward' path available. They have a lower bound to the career roles they can take up. You may well violate that bound and do more 'line worker' type roles, but that'll get funny looks, might actually be harder to get into with the title (some people might even conceal it for such reasons) and the PhD would have been largely wasted, career-advancement speaking.

For a software developer with a regular STEM MSc, there is more of an upper, less of a lower bound, but I'm not planning on testing out those upper boundaries (like, can you rise to C-level of a large corporation? Sure can, but a PhD makes it much easier where I'm from).

A PhD especially in a technical field gives broad insight to problem solving full stop, or at least someone without severe self-esteem issues should consider that is the bar they've cleared. I have a PhD and wormed myself into tons of low positions, doesn't anyone else want to know how the sausage actually gets made?

You’re going to become a middle manager if you follow the normal software engineering track.

Maybe it’s getting work “done” is what’s most attractive to you. I can see how it must feel to see your work right in front of you when you are writing code, but you need to be very aware of what you want. I’d not be happy if I switched fields to avoid management just to end up being a middle manager in a couple of years.

Then what?

I definitely consider frustration tolerance one of if not the most important skills for software development as well.

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