Soon to be PhD in Computer Science - Which Path to Follow?

I am going to submit my PhD thesis within the next six months. My PhD is on managing the availabiity of large-scale distributed systems, so I have some experience actually building non-trivial systems (+ I have four years experience working as a programmer).

I am now trying to figure out what I should do following the PhD.

I enjoy research (a quick definition: identify problem, come up with solution, ask interesting questions, find ways to answer them, build system, experiment, contribute some new knowledge and publish). I also like teaching and supervising students. It would seem that a career in academia is the ideal thing to do (can work on non-trivial problems and contribute something of use to some or more people).

However, a career in academia has two significant drawbacks. First, it can be difficult to gain access to real systems with real users which then display real problems. This creates the danger that you do work that seems important (to you and maybe to some of your colleagues), but is not really relevant to anything or anyone. Second, the pay is pretty sad. Apparently, you have to sacrifice this for the privilege of doing research.

I enjoy programming, but don't just want to hack some web-based system for the rest of my life. That is, working in IT for a bank is not a future I see myself enjoying. I want to work on interesting problms (that's difficult to define clearly): things where you don't know how to start, that take some time to figure out and attack, that require a rigorous approach to demonstrate that the problem has been solved, and problems that need a solution in the real world.

Give the experience of people on stackoverflow, what do you think suitable options are and why (or alternatively, what gaps in my thinking does the above reveal)? Is industrial research (aka IBM Research, Microsoft Research) the only alternative avenue to a career in academia? What other areas, companies, occupations, etc. could provide me with stimulating, inspiring work? Which regions, countries am I most likely to find such work?

Please share your experience.

@Jacob: What is this "after hours" of which you speak?

Norman Ramsey 2010-05-16 21:28:36

Haha. Without actually having worked in academia I don't first hand know if there is an "after hours" for academics. But as a passionate IT geek I believe there is always (or never, depending how you look at it) time for work outside of work hours. Usually at the sacrifice of a good nights sleep. Having recently been a student and now working two jobs well over 50+ hours a week; I know for a fact, there is no rest for the wicked. And I wouldn't have it any other way

Jacob 2010-05-16 21:46:33

especially +1 for invoking Loss Aversion and the Sunk Cost Fallacy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunk_costs#Loss_aversion_and_the_sunk_cost_fallacy

Jeff Atwood 2010-05-18 08:01:03

Thank you for a thoughtful answer. Given that quite a large number of working days are going to pass until I make prof, this probably means that as a postdoc I should attach myself to a prof who values and has access to real systems.

mttr 2010-05-18 15:42:59

I dont see the reason for commenting on possibly losing your job, that applies equally everywhere in the modern world. Tenure also seems a thing of the past, along with govt pensions.

Jonathan 2010-09-20 08:46:53

@Jonathan: Sudden, unexpected job loss is *much* less common in academia than in industry. In computing, there are still tenure-track jobs, and some people even get tenure, but difficulty is increasing. But even off the tenure track, universities are more stable employers: not for profit, predictable revenue stream, not subject to hostile takeovers, and not accountable to shareholders.

Norman Ramsey 2010-09-20 15:02:49

I think that's a fair comment, thanks for clarifying.

Jonathan 2010-09-21 06:08:18

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Soon to be PhD in Computer Science - Which Path to Follow?

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