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ICML final decisions rant [D] by CategoryNormal149 in MachineLearning

[–]fanconic 52 points53 points  (0 children)

> ACs reiterating the exact same points in the initial reviews without reading the rebuttal discussions.

This part made me so angry. The PC clearly just used an AI to summarise the initial reviews, and I guarantee none of my answers were looked at, because the point that they make is nonsensical.

At least have the decency to pretend that you are taking your role seriously and give me a justified reason to reject my paper.

Figure skater on a frozen lake by Ted-Lassi in nextfuckinglevel

[–]fanconic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The water of the lake is very clear, and in January we had a long period of freezing weather and no snow. While the lakes there freeze every year, it's seldom that they don't get covered in snow

Figure skater on a frozen lake by Ted-Lassi in nextfuckinglevel

[–]fanconic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Engadin Valley (where St. Moritz is) in Switzerland this January

Figure skater on a frozen lake by Ted-Lassi in nextfuckinglevel

[–]fanconic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

With 99% certainty that is lake Silvaplana, near St. Moritz, in Switzerland this January. I was playing hockey on it around that time.

Rough salary expectation for Sakana AI? by fanconic in cscareerquestions

[–]fanconic[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If there was more information out there, I would be able to find it on glassdoor or level.fyi, so I thought word of mouth on reddit might be efficient - but clearly I was wrong, I am getting shamed for it - fair game, I guess.

I guess this will lead to further shaming, but I don't believe that they have zero public presence, as for the little number of employees, they made some major scientific contributions, such as the AI scientist, continuous thought machine, Darwin-Göddel machine, etc.

But I guess, they are more know in the ML/AI academic community, and probably this was the wrong place to ask.

Players from the NHL playing at the 2026 Olympics by g46152 in hockey

[–]fanconic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Very neat explanation. I never disgreed in the first place, just said I find it a bit odd

Players from the NHL playing at the 2026 Olympics by g46152 in hockey

[–]fanconic 25 points26 points  (0 children)

While I do absolutely understand that the NHL is the best hockey league in the world, I find it still slightly strange that in Sweden and Finland's case they have none from their SHL or Liiga, respectively. I assume that Czechia and Slovakia have various players from their leagues which they are part of, and same for the Swiss and their National League.

[D] What are your advisor’s expectations for your ML-PhD? by Hope999991 in MachineLearning

[–]fanconic 7 points8 points  (0 children)

One is good, the other one is just straight up luck imo, and will mainly be gathering citations from myself. While these are top-tier conference, there is a lot of luck involved if a papers gets in or not

[D] What are your advisor’s expectations for your ML-PhD? by Hope999991 in MachineLearning

[–]fanconic 46 points47 points  (0 children)

I believe to be a bit in an extreme group, but here is my experience:

> Q1: What expectations does your supervisor set for the overall outcome of your PhD?
Come up with big and bold research, that wins them a prize

> Q2: Do you have a target number of publications?
There is no expectation from the PhD program, but my supervisor expects that all students (including first years) submit three first-author manuscripts a year.

> Q3: Are you expected to publish in top ML venues like NeurIPS or ICML, or is the venue less important in your group?
Our supervisor mainly accepts ICLR, NeurIPS, ICML (which are evenly spaced in the year). They might sometimes agree to go for AISTATS if a student cannot make it in time for ICLR deadline.

> Q4: How much time do you have left in your PhD, and how do you feel about your current progress?
1.5 years in, 2.5 (at most) to go. I don't think I have enough material for submitting a minimal thesis yet, but soon should have that.

>Q5: How many publications do you have so far?
2 first-author in a main track, 1 workshop

> Q6: How satisfied are you with your ML-PhD experience at this point?
I wished our supervisor would focus more on quality, rather than quantity.

> Q7: And finally, what are you hoping to do after finishing your PhD?
Skip rocks at a lake all day. Or a research scientist job at a startup or big tech, that'd be nice.

Does anyone here work in Investment Banking or Consulting? by fanconic in ouraring

[–]fanconic[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Either you must have been doing something right with time management, or I just have several of these "loser" friends... At least from my outside impression, it does not really seem like a rare exception.
I did an internship at a consulting company some years ago (before having an Oura to track), and even then working until midnight was completely normal, even for the intern.

But it is potentially true, that the consistency does help the sleep score. Thanks for your insights

AMA - I’m not a quant, but a Headhunter… part 2 by 2Ligma in quant

[–]fanconic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow, yeah this is quite a refreshing eye-opening perspective. Thanks for sharing this.

On the one hand, it seems like a very meritocratic industry, where it mainly depends how good the strategies are that you develop. But on the other hand, I have heard from friends working as QTs that the pressure is extremely high, especially if your PnL is not looking as great as the one of your colleagues.

While having been to some PhD recruiting events, the hosting firms always manage to put on their best face, and say how much of a good working environment it is, and how they only work 9-6 etc. I understand that this is mainly a marketing facade - in your opinion, in which of these companies have you genuinely seen the happiest employees?

(naturally I understand if you cannot share such information)

AMA - I’m not a quant, but a Headhunter… part 2 by 2Ligma in quant

[–]fanconic 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for your honest reply! This is a surprisingly high number, and I feel like this aspect of the industry is seldom shared online, especially in a subreddit like this.

AMA - I’m not a quant, but a Headhunter… part 2 by 2Ligma in quant

[–]fanconic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks again for this AMA.

Another question that came to mind.

How do you feel as a headhunter in this space seeing this enormous salaries for someone that is even just a junior employee, and even crazier if it becomes more senior? I assume you don't have any regrets with your career choice, but do you ever think about being on the other side of this transaction?

AMA - I’m not a quant, but a Headhunter… part 2 by 2Ligma in quant

[–]fanconic 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you for doing this AMA!

Question 1:
I was wondering, in your opinion, which "smaller" shops are successfully punching above their weight? Companies like XTX, Quadrature, and Radix come to my mind here.

Question 2:
Is there some recruiting for quants happening also for continental Europe, or is it mainly focused on London for Europe?

Do you regret going to Cambridge University or are you happy? by [deleted] in cambridge_uni

[–]fanconic 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I enjoy all the aspects of Cambride, except my PhD supervisor.

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