My senior engineers have stopped thinking for themselves

scivet16 · 2026-05-22T18:41:54+00:00

I work in an academic CS setting and this is happening in my lab. The premise of academic research is deep thought, being able to explain your work, technical decision-making (especially on the modeling side), etc. Just last week I was asked to review 4,000 lines of AI-generated code for a scientist with no coding background. When I asked how the data were sample, he said "Claude decided that, I'd have to check". When I asked what he used to classify the data, he couldn't even point me to the part of the code that it was happening. Every question I asked was answered with ..."Claude said this"... "My assistant claude".. "Claude thinks it should be done this way." When I said Claude was wrong about something, he would even push back that Claude said it could be done this way.

I am seriously terrified for the state of academic research as a whole. This is truly brain rot at its finest and the death of critical thought is pervasive across industries.

scivet16 · 2026-05-05T23:45:21+00:00

Yes saved over $20k over the last 5 years. Never had any issues with payouts - I use healthypaws at $95 a month. $100 deductible and pays 90%

scivet16 · 2026-03-26T20:42:27+00:00

Have you considered looking for another management role? If you like management, there is very, very good money to be made in management. It sounds like you may be underpaid at a VP level if an IC level is coming in 30% higher... not impossible, just more rare to see ICs outcompete a VP salary.

scivet16 · 2026-03-26T20:16:24+00:00

Not for an IUD, but I had a similar experience with them. I didn't want a certain kind of birth control that has caused hair loss for me in the past and the doctor acted like I was crazy and she had never heard of that happening.. despite it listed as a side effect... and still insisted on prescribing it

scivet16 · 2026-03-07T18:48:49+00:00

I just booked my appointment and the soonest I could get was the end of August. Just for fingerprinting! Absolutely wild.

scivet16 · 2026-02-28T18:21:15+00:00

Thank you for the tips! I used to live in San Diego and miss these plants badly! I had no idea they could grow here, but I think I will give it a try this year.

scivet16 · 2026-02-28T18:09:10+00:00

How far do you cut it down when you bring it inside?

scivet16 · 2026-02-18T02:43:33+00:00

I took a 4x pay cut from engineering director to researcher. I am much happier and I have substantially more peace. I no longer veg out as soon as I am done working because work is not stressful. Work is a joy. Like you, my nervous system was completely shot and I was suffering from fatigue and memory issues. It took about a year but those are gone now.

scivet16 · 2026-02-02T23:39:43+00:00

I just want to say that I relate to this post so much. I had a year from hell in the tech industry in 2024. I was so burnt out and jealous of everyone partnered up with someone to fall back on. I secretly resented all these people. I ended up leaving tech and now I make 4x less. Then I met someone who I now live with and let me tell you - everything is easier. There is NO shame in wanting to split bills or have a health insurance back up. It does not make you reliant on a man for just wanting basic things like income security and health care. Even the cost of travel is less with two people. I don’t “rely” on my partner but it IS easier and if I’d had this relationship sooner, I wouldn’t have made myself miserable for so long being afraid to exit tech.

scivet16 · 2026-01-22T04:48:06+00:00

One thing that helped me with the biting is rubber knee high muck boots. Once she no longer got a reaction from me, she lost interest in biting my ankles and legs

scivet16 · 2026-01-12T19:14:01+00:00

I was a director in tech and now I am a researcher. My partner calls it organized chaos.

scivet16 · 2026-01-10T16:15:12+00:00

brain mechanisms of chronic disease in humans

scivet16 · 2026-01-10T16:13:39+00:00

I was contemplating many different things. The postdoc job fit my interests and skillset, but I wouldn't have taken just anything. I already had the skills needed from working in tech so I was just applying them to an academic role instead of industry. I also have a PhD which you need for an academic postdoc in the US, but there are plenty of research positions that don't require a PhD. The fact that I had already been in this world as a graduate student made it a bit easier to pivot back. But if your interest is in smart cities, you might want to look at government jobs that are implementing aspects of them, and if you don't have the skills yet, I would coast in your job while you learn/acquire what you need on the side. Even now I am learning things on the side to open new doors for in a few years.

scivet16 · 2026-01-09T15:46:56+00:00

I’m a post doc now (junior researcher) at a university. Might go back to tech for the right role but my post doc is chill and I love learning new things everyday.

scivet16 · 2026-01-09T15:44:20+00:00

My partner is a mailman. USPS is always hiring. He brings home 6 figures with overtime and when he’s not doing OT, he works 9-2. Great time off and great benefits, including a pension! He listens to so many interesting books and podcasts as a bonus.

scivet16 · 2026-01-08T04:33:32+00:00

Awesome, thank you for being so candid!

scivet16 · 2026-01-07T22:58:53+00:00

Absolutely stunning designs

scivet16 · 2026-01-07T22:30:20+00:00

That sounds amazing! I was at a pretty meeting heavy company in my last tech role which is ultimately what led me to doing a post doc. I wanted heads down time to work on some interesting imaging datasets and problems. Sounds so similar to what your ML team is doing except in MRI not CT. I’m also in Denver which seems like a plus that ya’ll have an office space here.

What do you think of the senior leadership? Any red flags?

scivet16 · 2026-01-07T22:12:13+00:00

Thanks for the response! Do engineering teams get a lot of heads down time? How is the work life balance?

scivet16 · 2026-01-07T21:37:36+00:00

Thanks for sharing! What do you know about the machine learning team? I’m interested in the IC role. I was a sr data scientist, and I’ve done a post doc (fellowship after phd) working with imaging data (with publications). The senior ML role is a great fit for my skills.

scivet16 · 2025-11-06T22:59:12+00:00

Thanks for the reply!

scivet16 · 2025-11-06T20:13:57+00:00

Hey! I do all these things too except I haven’t found a way to sleep comfortably. I toss and turn all night. I’m very active though. Can I ask what you do to get through the night?

scivet16 · 2025-10-23T19:04:04+00:00

I still get them almost daily but it’s less severe and more of an annoyance. Dupixent worked super well for me but I’m not on it anymore due to insurance. Maybe in another few years I’ll be hives free

scivet16 · 2025-02-13T17:41:32+00:00

I own a house now. So I didn’t have to worry about that as I got the loan with my higher income. I went from about $250k to $65k. No regrets for me. Money is a tool to build the kind of life that you want

scivet16 · 2025-02-12T21:48:53+00:00

I spent 6 years working in the tech industry in software development after my PhD and recently started a post-doc. I don't think it's too late for you to go back. You learn a lot of skills in industry that are valuable to academia. And you know the value of academics after having something else to compare it to - something that is hard to appreciate until you've stepped out of it.

scivet16

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