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Comment by mk_stjames | Hacker News Reader

I'm always interested in hearing about these people who go and get a PhD in an unrelated field to their original studies, often years after leaving university and working in an industry. Here it says Hasabis did an undergraduate degree in a computer science program, and them spent a decade working on computer games at studios, and then somehow just rocked up to a university and asked to do a PhD in neuroscience.

I feel if I tried to do that in the US- (where I got a masters degree in engineering, spent a 15 yrs as an aerospace engineer,)- tried to go back and ask to do a PhD in, say, Physics - I'd be promptly told to go fuck myself (or, fuck myself but then enroll in a new undergrad or maaaybe graduate program only after re-taking GRE's. Straight PhD? Never heard it work like that.)

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There is a lot of variation in how PhD studies work. In some places, you are just a faceless candidate applying to a department, which discourages you from contacting the faculty before you are admitted. In other places, you must convince a professor to supervise and fund you before you are even allowed to apply. Some universities require you (or your supervisor) pay tuition fees for a number of years before you can graduate, while others don't care what you do, as long as you can produce a thesis that meets their standards.

You can jump from social sciences to STEM. Your formal admission can wait for a year or two after you actually started. Or you can move to another university and get a PhD in a few months, because the administrative requirements in the original one were too unreasonable. These things happen, because universities are independent organizations that like doing things their own way.

PhD is a thankless, low paid position with insane hours and zero guaranteed return. Outside of a few elite programs and universities getting into PhD program is fairly easy - they take anyone qualified.

That may be more true in a super crowded and hot area, like AI now where reputable profs get dozens of PhD applicants per position, who all have already published relevant works in the field at top venues during their masters.

In more chill fields where the waters are relatively calm, this may be less of an issue.

But let's also consider the fact that Hassabis did his undergrad at the University of Cambridge, likely with excellent results. He wasn't just some random programmer.

you assume likely with excellent results. perhaps his results weren't excellent?

likely because hassabis was a child prodigy. Was a chess master at 13. Lead Cambridge chess team. its not surmise to assume that demis had impeccable school record

Demis was a legend at Cambridge. I was in CS a few years below him. He would have had very strong recommendations from professors.

Aerospace engineering masters -> Physics PhD doesn't sound like a big leap to me. I don't think that's accurate.

Why do you think that? It’s not my experience. At the grad school level they’ll take anyone who can do the work and is interested. Outside experience, even in unrelated fields, is often a plus. Grad students just out of undergrad have no idea how the world works.

I made the jump from mostly-math undergrad to materials science PhD (close to chemistry/physics, if you don't know the field). I was welcomed with open arms.

If you've got any math-heavy STEM graduate degree, you can likely jump into a physics PhD. You might need to take some senior-level undergraduate courses to catch up, but the transition is quite doable. At some point, your overall intelligence, enthusiasm, and work ethic matter more than your specific background.

> tried to go back and ask to do a PhD in, say, Physics - I'd be promptly told to go fuck myself

Only if you need money.

If you pay the tuition they'll receive you with open arms.

I've seen this for a guy is his mid to late 30s.

As everything in the states, it's completely pay to play and largely pay to win.

What? Physics programs don't work like that, at least not T1-2 ones I know about. A physics PhD is not pay to play and anyone thinking it is would fail out on their qual at every university I'm familiar with.

> and anyone thinking it is would fail out on their qual

That I don't know but I have my doubts.

This was in a very well know university, so make of it what you wish.

I won't give any further details.

I have known a several people who made the jump from Computer Science to Biology at graduate school. Usually, it's either via genomics or neuroscience (as in Hassabis' case), where there is a large need for people who can do data crunching or computational modelling.

I think PhD's are generally different enough in Europe vs the US that this might be less surprising upon further research

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