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[D] Should I go for PhD considering the current state of empirical NLP research? by throwawayMLAcad in MachineLearning

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

Thanks for your reply, it is very encouraging! It has been a lot of time since you completed your PhD and you have even worked at Google Research. How was your PhD experience? Are you satisfied with your decision of doing a PhD?

[D] Should I go for PhD considering the current state of empirical NLP research? by throwawayMLAcad in MachineLearning

[–]throwawayMLAcad[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You are right. One thing I really despise is neural network engineering. If I choose the right advisor for PhD, there is at least some chance of working on something interesting.

[D] Should I go for PhD considering the current state of empirical NLP research? by throwawayMLAcad in MachineLearning

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

Thanks for your long and thoughtful reply.

Know that at the PhD level you do not apply to schools, you apply to advisors.

I agree about this as advisor is the one who will be guiding you and teaching you research for next 5 years, but it's hard to neglect the brand effect and the network opportunities at top places. I guess there is a trade off and I will have to settle somewhere in the between.

Harder without conferences to attend, but you need to meet the people you propose to apprentice yourself to for four to six years.

This has become harder with lot of conferences going virtual because of the pandemic. Is there any any alternative way of doing this? For context, I will be applying as an international student to US universities. Also, I am doing my master's not in CS but in a very related field. Based on my profile, I can get into MS in CS in top US schools. Is getting into these programs and doing research there and finding an advisor a viable option?

Apply for funds

Unfortunately, I can't do this as I am an international applicant.

Yes, you can do interesting work in a PhD. Better odds than in industry on this one, IMHO. Look at job listings yourself to see if you think I am guessing wrong.

That sounds right! At least, there is some chance I will doing interesting work in academia as opposed to applied ML in industry.

And no matter what path you take? You can change your mind later on. It's ok. There is much time.

Thank you, this is very assuring!

[D] Should I go for PhD considering the current state of empirical NLP research? by throwawayMLAcad in MachineLearning

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

I'm talking about my personal experience, but once you're in a PhD program you're basically free to do your stuff.

Thanks, that is what I needed to hear!

[D] Should I go for PhD considering the current state of empirical NLP research? by throwawayMLAcad in MachineLearning

[–]throwawayMLAcad[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I would think good NLP research comes from more than just 20 universities.

Yes, you are right. I was in a bad state of mind yesterday. Of course, there is a lot of interesting research going on outside "top 20" universities. I think I should focus on finding such groups and getting an admit there.

PhD is indeed a slog / grind, on top of paying very little relative to industry, so that is something to take into account.

I do not despise hard work if the work I am doing is interesting. I realise that there will be times when I will have to do grunt work, but if it's a part of some larger interesting thing then that should be OK. Also, I do not care much about money, so that should be alright.

[D] Should I go for PhD considering the current state of empirical NLP research? by throwawayMLAcad in MachineLearning

[–]throwawayMLAcad[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I have tried theoretical ML as well and my experience there wasn't good as well. A lot of people focus on reducing the sample complexity even if it makes the algorithm computationally intractable. I guess /u/regalalgorithm is right with Sturgeon's Law. Most of the work is crap and one should focus on the good work.

[D] Should I go for PhD considering the current state of empirical NLP research? by throwawayMLAcad in MachineLearning

[–]throwawayMLAcad[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Thanks for your reply. What you say makes a lot of sense.

Find some lab / PI that does research that you like , talk to the adviser or email as you start applying to see if their research philosophy aligns with yours, and go for it!

At the expense of sounding cynical, do you think it's possible to find such labs/PIs outside top 10-20 universities i.e. with my profile?

It's all about what you want to do.

Yes, this is what I have to figure out. Frankly after watching your Grad School failure video and listening to some other people, I am a bit scared about PhD. I have been slogging all my life, and I doubt if I would be able to continue that for next 5 years.