2013 CRA-W Graduate Cohort Workshop PhD Industry Career Paths Maryam Kamvar Garrett (Google) Suju Rajan (Yahoo!) Amanda Stent (AT&T)

2013 CRA-W Graduate Cohort Workshop

PhD Industry Career Paths

Maryam Kamvar Garrett (Google)Suju Rajan (Yahoo!)

Amanda Stent (AT&T)

OutlineOutline

Introductions and career journeys Careers in industry Making the choice: Research or non-research?

An engineer in industry A researcher in industry

Preparing for a career in industry Transitioning Becoming a technical leader Networking and collaboration

Resources

QuestionsQuestions

How many different career paths can one have in industry?

Maryam Kamvar GarrettMaryam Kamvar Garrett

Suju RajanSuju Rajan• Education:

– PhD in Electrical & Computer Engineering, UT Austin– BE in Electronics & Communications Engineering,

University of Madras, India

• Research interests– Machine Learning, Data/Web Mining, Information

Retrieval

• Work:– Sr. Manager leading a team performing applied research

on Personalization & Content Science

Amanda StentAmanda Stent• Computational linguist working on dialog systems,

natural language generation, assistive technology1. Principal Member of Technical Staff, AT&T Labs –

Research2. Associate/Assistant Professor, Computer Science,

Stony Brook University3. Postdoc, AT&T Labs – Research4. PhD student, Computer Science, University of

Rochester• Also: married, taekwondo student, pianist, EMT in

training

Careers in IndustryCareers in Industry

• Software or hardware or services companies

• Start-ups• Research labs • Govt. agencies • Non-IT companies

– High finance, healthcare, legal, …How many of you have worked at a non-IT company?

Making the ChoiceMaking the Choice

• Industry-quality coder vs. prototyping?• Deep technical support, debugging and testing?• Well-defined goals and project deliverables?• Patenting and/or publishing?• Working on deep research problems?• Be your own boss (to an extent)?• Want to go to academia later?• Impact to company product roadmap?• Pace of career growth?

Who has done an informational interview?

An Engineer in IndustryAn Engineer in Industry• Participates in the design, test, implementation,

and/or support of software applications, products and solutions– Design, code, unit test– Quality Assurance: Functional Test, System Test,

Regression– Performance: measurement, analysis, change– Deep technical support and debugging– Tools development

• Contributes to Intellectual Property– Patents and papers

• Contributes to employer’s bottom-line– Supports the sales process and ongoing customer

satisfaction– Proactively pleases customers

How many of you worked in CS or IT before going to graduate school?

A Researcher in IndustryA Researcher in Industry• Proactive leader in the creation of new and innovative

products and services (applied research)– Task definition– Design: requirements specification– Tools development– Collaboration with product development teams

• Participates in foundational inventions (basic research)– Task definition– Tools and prototypes

• Contributes to Intellectual Property– Patents and papers

• Contributes to employer’s bottom-line– Proactively develops new and innovative products and services– Seeks productive partnerships with other business units and

external collaborators

Preparing for a Career in Preparing for a Career in IndustryIndustry

• Internships– Try out a corporate culture, job type, industry– Establish connections

• Experience counts a lot!– Work on real-world relevant problems– Technical skills need to be up-to-date and fluent

• Build your professional network, make yourself visible– Build a list of references– Keep your web presence up-to-date

Have you done an internship?

TransitioningTransitioning

Academia Industry

Active publishing in top tier conferences

Active collaborations with academia

Establish visibility in research community

Must build “real” systems Up-to-date technical skills Understand business

roadmaps Establish visibility in

industry, startups

How many of you hope to work both in academia and in industry?

Becoming a Technical LeaderBecoming a Technical Leader• Technical depth and breadth

– Your “brand”: what do you want to be known for?• Credentials

– Vita, patents, publications, awards• Communications skills

– Correct, concise, clear, match form and style to occasion• Basic skills

– “Business” sense – understanding the broad goals– Prioritization and time management– Analytic and negotiation skills– Learn to lead without power

• A good character– Trustworthy, committed, positive, self-aware, empowered– Recognize everyone’s contributions

• Avoid derailment

Becoming a Technical LeaderBecoming a Technical Leader

Who comes to mind when you think “technical leader”?

How are you different from or similar to that person?

Networking is ImportantNetworking is Important

• Networking is important– Visibility, research– Mentors, team members

• Contribute to your network• Making professional connections

– Not a substitute for doing quality work

• Collaborate with academia– Funding, internships, joint projects/publications

• Partner with business groups within the company– Technology transfer

Networking is ImportantNetworking is Important

Do you belong to an online professional network?

Do you have a mentor?

Do you mentor someone else?

ResourcesResources• Cracking the Coding Interview, Gayle Laakmann McDowell, 2011• How To Be a Star at Work: 9 Breakthrough Strategies You Need

to Succeed, Robert E. Kelley, 1998• Ask For It: How Women Can Use the Power of Negotiation to

Get What They Really Want, Linda Babcock & Sara Laschever, 2008• First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers

Do Differently, Marcus Buckingham & Curt Coffman, 1999• Networking Like a Pro: Turning Contacts into Connections, Ivan

Misner, David Alexander, Brian Hilliard, 2010• Collaboration: How Leaders Avoid the Traps, Create Unity, and

Reap Big Results, Morten Hansen, 2009• Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In, Roger

Fisher, William Ury & Bruce Patton, 1991• Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office, Lois Frankel, 2010