레이블이 Best PhD Computer Science Program인 게시물을 표시합니다. 모든 게시물 표시
레이블이 Best PhD Computer Science Program인 게시물을 표시합니다. 모든 게시물 표시

2013년 11월 23일 토요일

About 'graduate programs in computer science'|The Importance of Engineering in Undergraduate Computer Science Programs







About 'graduate programs in computer science'|The Importance of Engineering in Undergraduate Computer Science Programs








"Science               is               a               wonderful               thing               if               one               does               not               have               to               earn               one's               living               at               it."               -               Albert               Einstein.

Spurred               on               by               a               dearth               of               people               entering               the               sciences,               schools               across               America               are               participating               in               what               may               be               called               "Science               is               Fun"               days.

Science               fairs,               trips               to               national               labs,               and               scientific               demonstrations               are               all               the               rage               at               various               elementary               and               high               schools,               where               youngsters               are               encouraged               to               enter               the               biological,               chemical,               and               physical               science               fields.

Unfortunately,               what               no               one               bothers               to               address               is               the               dearth               of               funding               and               real               job               opportunities               for               these               youngsters               should               they               decide               to               embark               upon               a               scientific               career.

Whereas               30               years               ago               one               could               expect               to               achieve               a               tenured               (permanent)               academic               position               at               a               respected               university               a               few               years               after               earning               a               Ph.D.

(or               even               master's)               degree,               nowadays,               that               possibility               is               but               a               faint               glimmer               of               hope.

At               government               institutions               (like               the               N.I.H.)               and               even               in               industry,               the               likelihood               of               a               scientist               earning               an               income               commensurate               with               their               education               and               experience               is               also               nil.

Add               to               that               the               high               number               of               work               hours               required               in               the               field,               the               lack               of               benefits               such               as               401(k),               vacation/sick/personal               days,               stock               options,               and               profit               sharing,               along               with               the               constant               job               insecurity,               and               it               is               little               wonder               that               fewer               and               fewer               individuals               are               deciding               to               become               physicists,               chemists,               or               biologists.
               One               of               the               major               changes               in               the               scientific               arena               has               been               the               role               of               the               postdoctoral               scientist.

The               postdoctoral               fellowship               was               a               position               once               considered               an               option               for               a               few               scientists               following               their               graduation               with               a               Ph.D.,               whereupon               the               research               they               performed               in               their               graduate               years               was               either               wrapped               up               or               expanded               upon               for               (at               most)               a               year.

Payment               during               this               time               came               from               the               mentor's               grant,               and               the               "postdoc"               was               under               the               mentor's,               not               the               university's,               direct               employment.

After               that               time,               the               postdoc               was               either               hired               outright               by               his/her               respective               school               (usually               as               an               associate               professor),               or               had               found               steady               employment               elsewhere.
               This               is               certainly               not               the               case               today.

Now,               postdoctoral               fellowships               might               last               4,               5,               or               even               10               years.

Most               graduating               scientists               will               do               at               least               one,               if               not               more,               postdoctoral               appointments.

Unfortunately,               the               pay               rates               for               postdocs,               as               well               as               the               benefits               (or               lack               thereof)               awarded               to               them,               are               quite               small.

Because               the               postdoctoral               position               was               never               designed               to               be               a               "steady"               job,               but               rather               an               apprenticeship               program,               there               are               few               resources               available               to               such               scientists.

Postdocs               are               usually               paid               from               private               grants,               and               are               not               considered               official               employees               of               their               school               or               institution.

Therefore,               they               cannot               take               advantage               of               the               retirement,               life               insurance,               and               other               benefits               available               to               regular               employees.

The               mentor               can               choose               to               fire               them               at               any               time,               for               almost               any               reason,               with               there               being               little               recourse               to               legal               action               or               unemployment               compensation.

As               such,               the               postdoctoral               scientist               quickly               becomes               a               "slave"               of               his/her               mentor,               working               long               hours               for               little               pay,               and               living               in               constant               fear               of               being               let               go               for               the               slightest               mistake               or               unsuccessful               experiment.
               Even               when               postdocs               are               successful,               obtaining               good               data               from               their               experiments,               most               mentors               will               eventually               require               that               they               write               for               and               obtain               grant               money               of               their               own.

In               that               way,               the               mentor               can               hire               another               postdoc.

Scientists               incapable               of               obtaining               their               own               grant               money               are               quickly               relegated               to               the               ranks               of               the               unemployed.

This               is               not               only               the               case               with               postdocs,               but               associate               (and               tenured)               professors               as               well.

No               one               gets               away               with               simply               showing               up               to               work               and               performing               ground-breaking               experiments.

One               must               also               sell               one's               research,               attracting               funding               in               the               form               of               grants.
               The               scramble               for               research               money               becomes               a               downward               spiral               into               insanity:               professors               will               spend               a               majority               of               their               time               writing               grant               proposals,               which               takes               them               away               from               their               own               experiments,               as               well               as               lab               duties               such               as               the               mentoring               of               postdocs               and               students.

As               a               result,               postdocs               are               expected               to               mentor               students               and               technicians               and               to               supervise               the               lab.

They               are               also               expected               to               write               their               own               grants.

However,               in               order               for               mentors               to               receive               the               bigger               grants,               hard               data               need               to               be               supplied               for               the               proposals.

This               means               that               postdocs               need               to               work               long               hours               to               supply               such               data               in               addition               to               performing               their               other               duties.

The               results               are               as               follows:               postdocs               work               70-80               hours               per               week               at               a               pay               rate               of               around               $36,996/year               (according               to               the               N.I.H.

pay               scale               advisory,               starting               2/22/2007)1,               with               no               benefits               aside               from               (maybe)               health               insurance.

That               calculates               out               to               less               than               $10/hour,               given               a               "light"               70-hour               work               week.

And               the               final               insult?

Despite               not               being               considered               "real"               employees,               postdoc               stipends               are               still               taxed               by               the               federal               and               state               government.
               Why               have               postdoctoral               appointments,               and               their               length               of               time,               increased               so               dramatically?

Part               of               the               blame               can               be               placed               on               the               universities               themselves,               which               take               on               many               more               graduate               and               pre-doctoral               students               than               can               be               reasonably               placed               post-graduation.

Between               1987               and               1996,               the               National               Research               Council               reports               that               there               has               been               a               42%               increase               in               the               number               of               Ph.D.s               awarded2.

Unfortunately,               that               increase               has               not               been               met               by               an               increase               in               the               number               of               available               jobs.

Instead,               between               1975               and               1995,               the               percentage               of               Ph.D.-level               scientists               able               to               obtain               permanent               positions               in               academia,               industry,               and               government               within               5-6               years               following               graduation               decreased               from               89%               to               61%.

Those               scientists               stuck               in               the               39%               non-permanent               job               group               are               generally               employed               as               postdocs.

Some               of               these               scientists               are               on               their               second,               third,               or               even               fourth               postdoctoral               appointment,               with               no               end               in               sight.
               The               N.R.C.

recommends               that               universities               limit               their               number               of               incoming               graduate               students,               as               well               as               the               development               of               new               graduate               programs,               in               order               to               help               reverse               this               trend.

Still,               the               temptation               is               simply               too               great               when               universities               consider               taking               on               cheap               student               labor.

For               the               price               of               one               steadily-employed               scientist,               a               university               can               award               4-5               student               stipends.

Professors               that               retire               are               often               not               replaced,               and               their               courses               are               taught               by               teaching               assistants.

Other               professors               use               those               extra               students               to               drive               their               own               research,               enabling               them               to               finally               obtain               tenure.
               Another               reason               why               the               amount               of               postdocs               has               increased               is               because               of               immigration.

Bright               young               people               in               Asia,               Africa,               South               America,               and               even               Europe               encounter               employment               conditions               much               worse               than               those               found               here.

As               a               result,               many               future               scientists               immigrate               to               the               United               States,               where               they               willingly               put               up               with               lower               pay               and               Machiavellian               mentors,               simply               because               conditions               back               home               are               even               worse.

As               a               result,               native               (as               well               as               immigrant)               scientists               stand               little               chance               at               obtaining               a               living               wage               or               decent               work               hours.

They               also               stand               little               chance               of               escaping               their               own               postdoctoral               appointments,               because               immigrant               postdocs               will               beat               them               to               those               elusive               associate               professorships               and               funding               opportunities.

After               all,               when               one               willingly               puts               in               80               hour               work               weeks,               one               can't               help               but               obtain               more               data               and               publications               than               one's               colleagues.

More               data,               and               a               higher               number               of               published               papers,               are               the               keys               to               scientific               advancement.
               Finally,               the               government               itself               carries               some               of               the               blame.

Back               in               the               1990's,               Congress               regularly               increased               its               monetary               allocation               to               N.I.H.

every               fiscal               year3.

Starting               in               2006,               despite               promises               by               the               Bush               administration               to               the               contrary,               N.I.H.

budget               increases               went               flat.

Because               the               cost               of               goods               is               always               increasing,               the               N.I.H.

"flatline"               meant               that               the               amount               of               money               awarded               became               less               than               that               of               prior               years.

Total               N.I.H.

grant               funding               rates,               once               at               30%,               were               reduced               to               20%.

Certain               institutions               within               N.I.H.

only               fund               15%               of               all               grants               submitted               to               them4.
               As               a               result,               labs               were               forced               to               either               reduce               expenses               or               shut               their               doors.

"Buckling               down"               implied               staff               eliminations               and               hiring               freezes,               with               only               low-paid               postdocs               and               graduate               students               surviving               the               downsizing.

It               also               implied               that               survivors               of               the               downsizings               would               work               even               harder               to               ensure               continued               data               output,               despite               the               reductions               in               staff               and               other               lab               resources.
               What               about               scientists               in               industry?

Certainly               they               fare               better               than               their               academic               colleagues,               right?

To               some               extent,               the               answer               is               yes.

The               money               at               corporations               like               Johnson               &               Johnson,               Invitrogen,               and               Pfizer               is               much               more               plentiful               than               at               universities.

Also,               industry               scientists               need               only               to               focus               on               their               research,               not               on               writing               and               obtaining               grants.

The               downside               to               corporate               life               is               that               the               scientists               are               expected               to               "hit               the               ground               running"               and               not               waste               much               time               optimizing               their               experiments.

Even               once               a               project               is               set               up               and               underway,               the               marketing               department               may               decide               that               R&D               needs               to               focus               on               a               different               project               altogether,               taking               the               scientist               back               to               the               drawing               board.

Too               many               project               switches               lead               to               no               product               being               generated,               making               the               scientist               appear               to               be               of               no               benefit               to               the               company.

Furthermore,               any               ideas               generated               by               the               scientist               regarding               future               products               need               to               first               obtain               approval               by               sales               and               marketing               departments,               leaving               little               potential               for               satisfaction               of               personal               curiosity               or               intellectual               growth.
               There               are               some               advantages               to               working               in               industry,               however.

A               Ph.D.,               when               combined               with               a               business,               law,               or               computer               science               degree,               makes               a               scientist               a               valuable               commodity               in               the               corporate               world.

Many               companies               will               subsidize               coursework               leading               up               to               the               M.B.A.,               J.D.,               or               other               "real               world"               degree.

Ideally,               in               order               to               obtain               the               maximal               amount               of               employment               opportunity               and               earning               potential,               coupled               with               the               least               amount               of               educational               investment,               one               should               first               earn               a               bachelor's               (or               at               most,               a               master's)               degree               in               a               basic               science,               find               employment               with               a               company               that               will               pay               for               continued               education,               and               then               earn               that               second               "real               world"               degree.

Upon               graduation               with               this               additional               degree,               one               will               have               a               good               chance               at               rising               to               management               level,               whether               it               be               in               the               R&D,               legal,               IT,               sales,               or               marketing               department.
               A               Ph.D.

in               not               necessary               for               most               management-level               jobs.

It               certainly               won't               hurt               the               candidate,               since               the               extra               research               experience               will               prove               valuable               to               companies               that               require               technical               expertise.

However,               in               some               cases,               a               doctoral               degree               may               actually               make               it               harder               to               find               an               entry-level               position,               due               to               the               candidate               being               considered               over-qualified.
               Most               would-be               scientists               are               not               informed               that,               unless               they               wish               to               perform               academic               research               only,               earning               a               Ph.D.

is               overkill.

However,               when               one               is               surrounded               by               other               Ph.D.-level               professors,               who               are               hoping               for               a               graduate               student               (or               three)               to               perform               lab               research               for               4-7               years,               what               can               one               expect?

It               is               better               to               go               out               into               the               "real"               world,               interview               several               corporate               recruiters,               and               understand               what               the               market               needs               are               for               today's               scientists.

Even               if               one               is               hoping               to               obtain               that               elusive               tenure-track               academic               post,               it               doesn't               hurt               to               know               one's               options.

With               funding               rates               for               research               grants               continually               decreasing,               a               hopeful               young               academic               may               not               last               long               at               a               university.

A               scientist               with               no               exit               strategy               in               place               may               end               up               bartending               rather               than               finding               a               cure               for               cancer!
               Sources:
               Postdoctoral               Research/Fellow               Salary               http://www.grad.uiowa.edu/Postdoc/Salary.asp               American               Institute               of               Biological               Sciences:               AIBS               News               December               1998               http://www.aibs.org/aibs-news/aibs_news_1998_12.html               AARP               Bulletin.

Flatlining               NIH's               budget               freeze               could               stall               crucial               studies               of               disease.

Is               a               slowdown               in               medical               research               avoidable?

http://www.aarp.org/bulletin/prescription/nih_budget.html                              How               doubling               the               NIH's               budget               created               a               funding               crisishttp://arstechnica.com/journals/science.ars/2007/04/20/how-doubling-the-nihs-budget-created-a-funding-crisis               





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