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PhD in Compooters

  • 16-06-2004 8:24am
    #1
    rob1891
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,038 ✭✭✭


    Anyone here with a PhD in CS?

    I've been offered one in UCD with a little funding. I've more or less accepted it, but I of course can change my mind about it.

    What I'd like to know is some independant opinion of UCDs postgrad reputation in CS. I know first hand that the BSc is quite rubbish, but I've always put that down to the department prefering to create good research students rather than employable graduates! Of course they sing their own praises in there, but somehow I'm not quite convinced!

    I'd also be interested in hearing what people think of doing a PhD in CS at all. I know that the (few) people who get jobs from the BSc here are starting on 25k ish and in England a good deal more, where as I shall most likely be subsisting on 12k a year for the next three, and in the mean time if they aren't fired they'll probably be on 30+ by that stage and I'll be ... well, that's the question, where, on the bottom rung like they were 3 years ago?

    (btw. money isn't all that important to me, but when there is a disparity of more than 10k, it would be stupid of anyone not to start thinking about it!)

    Rob


Comments

  • #2
    giveth
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 250 ✭✭giveth


    Hey,

    I'm also trying to decide whether to do a phd in CS in UCC. I'd be getting 25k minus college fees so the funding aint too bad as funding goes.

    I'd like to know what the employment opportunities are like for people with phd in CS? I want to be a software engineer probably in the ecommerce sector. I'm thinking a phd may make it more difficult to get a job in that area.

    Rob, id also find out if expenses (eg computer, software licenses, travel, etc) are covered by the cs dept rather than having to fork out your own money!
    Do you know what you would be researching? I'd say you would want to find it interesting to be at it for 3/4 years.
    I suspect that if you do get a job after you have finished your phd, you would start off on a higher scale than people with noly a degree.


  • #3
    Rew
    Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 8,679 Mod ✭✭✭✭Rew


    Im doing an MSc ATM and getting 14K per year and my fee's paid for me. The PhD program here pays 19K per year plus and fees paid. All hardware/software costs are covered. Desk/phone as well.

    PhD is **** all good to you unless you want a career in research or academics (or both ;) ). PhD may go against you is some jobs as they may consider you over qualified or overly academic...


  • #4
    rob1891
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,038 ✭✭✭rob1891


    It's 12k cash in hand with doing some tutoring, fees, hardware & travel are paid out of a total of 17k (+2 for tutoring, I am not sure), but if I don't travel or use the hardware bugeted I still only see 12k. It's the SFI grant, though I'll be applying to the IRCSET when the second call comes out. That is also about 12k in hand, but you don't have to do aditional tutoring as it's out of a total of 19k ish.

    I'd be working on data partitioning in parallel & grid computing. I guess I am interested in it enough to spend the 3/4 years at it, I really don't know what I would like to end up doing, but solving big problems with big hardware has always interested me, and forcing everyone to call me dr.rob might be fun for a few weeks ;)
    PhD may go against you is some jobs as they may consider you over qualified or overly academic...

    This is what I was expecting to hear. I'm not going to work in a university the rest of my life though!! So where to ... research departments in the big companies, google, IBM, etc? That sounds like a working hard for the man :eek: What are the PhDs on boards up to, there must be one or two ...

    Rob


  • #5
    deRanged
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,744 ✭✭✭deRanged


    I'm 2 years into a PhD in grid & distributed computing.

    I was working as a software engineer for a few years, got bored and went back to college in UCC. I'm enjoying it.

    Rob - if you change grant just watch out for clauses like not being allowed to do any additional tutoring - that caught one of the lads here last year - it can cost you a few thousand quid - and with the fees increasing....

    I'm not sure what I hope to do after the PhD - I don't want to stay in academia forever. I'm actually thinking of trying for a corporate research job - something like Dell, Google or IBM. For a couple of years anyway - it'd be nice to work on a really big cluster.

    Do you know what kind of equipment will be available to you to work on? And what's in place already? It can take a long time for equipment to appear, and then to be set up.

    I'm happy to answer any questions any of ye have.

    Brian (http://www.cuc.ucc.ie)


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