Career choices

There are also those lucky few who have a calling towards a particular lifestyle, be that of university or industry. But for the rest of us, it’s a confusing yet crucial decision.

I’ve borne witness to those who wanted to work in industry, but later found that they just couldn’t fit in. This can be a painful process of discovery, as it essentially results in poor performance appraisals and job-hopping. I’ve seen those who wished to continue towards a doctoral degree, only to learn a couple of years down the line that they don’t like the university set up. Just as pitiably, I’ve also met those who took to industrial projects, only to find that they didn’t satisfy their technical aspirations. But this process of finding one’s niche need not be as painful as it often is.

There are certain key aspects typical to each sector that you should consider when making your decision. Firstly, do you stay motivated while working on the same topic for extended periods of time? If no, then you should seriously reconsider an academic research career. On the other hand, industrial projects rarely last that long, so therefore offer variety that you would most probably not have in a university job.

Secondly, do you want to see your work on a shop shelf? Personally, I can tell you that there’s a lot of satisfaction to be had in seeing the end product that you helped make. After all, this generates the revenue to sustain both industrial and academic research. In this case, you should strongly consider a career in industry. However, as opposed to research, product development isn’t about doing something cutting-edge. It’s simply about giving the market what it wants, and making money in the process. Unless you’re also interested in the business side of enterprise, this can become quite monotonous very quickly.

Thirdly, industrial research is midway between academia and product development. Here, you would conduct research that targets an application, and a project lifecycle is typically for one or two years. If you’re in this sector, it’s highly probable that your work would find a place in a product in a few years time.

Just as important, however, is the culture that accompanies a certain job. For instance, PhD students need to have excellent relationships with their supervisors. But in industry, you would generally be part of a closely-knit team administered by a project leader.

So, when plotting your next career move, carefully consider all the aspects that ensure success and job satisfaction. Remember, life is too short to learn only from your own mistakes!”

Ramesh Chidambaram is from India. He is a recent MSc micro-electronics graduate of TU Delft and curently works for Philips Semiconductors in Nijmegen.

“As graduation approaches, every Master’s student must select the path ahead. It’s a daunting choice: Which job sector should you target? Should you continue with academic research, as opposed to industrial research? Or should you target industrial product development and design? For some of us, the choice is made obvious by our chosen field of study and jobs on offer. There are also those lucky few who have a calling towards a particular lifestyle, be that of university or industry. But for the rest of us, it’s a confusing yet crucial decision.

I’ve borne witness to those who wanted to work in industry, but later found that they just couldn’t fit in. This can be a painful process of discovery, as it essentially results in poor performance appraisals and job-hopping. I’ve seen those who wished to continue towards a doctoral degree, only to learn a couple of years down the line that they don’t like the university set up. Just as pitiably, I’ve also met those who took to industrial projects, only to find that they didn’t satisfy their technical aspirations. But this process of finding one’s niche need not be as painful as it often is.

There are certain key aspects typical to each sector that you should consider when making your decision. Firstly, do you stay motivated while working on the same topic for extended periods of time? If no, then you should seriously reconsider an academic research career. On the other hand, industrial projects rarely last that long, so therefore offer variety that you would most probably not have in a university job.

Secondly, do you want to see your work on a shop shelf? Personally, I can tell you that there’s a lot of satisfaction to be had in seeing the end product that you helped make. After all, this generates the revenue to sustain both industrial and academic research. In this case, you should strongly consider a career in industry. However, as opposed to research, product development isn’t about doing something cutting-edge. It’s simply about giving the market what it wants, and making money in the process. Unless you’re also interested in the business side of enterprise, this can become quite monotonous very quickly.

Thirdly, industrial research is midway between academia and product development. Here, you would conduct research that targets an application, and a project lifecycle is typically for one or two years. If you’re in this sector, it’s highly probable that your work would find a place in a product in a few years time.

Just as important, however, is the culture that accompanies a certain job. For instance, PhD students need to have excellent relationships with their supervisors. But in industry, you would generally be part of a closely-knit team administered by a project leader.

So, when plotting your next career move, carefully consider all the aspects that ensure success and job satisfaction. Remember, life is too short to learn only from your own mistakes!”

Ramesh Chidambaram is from India. He is a recent MSc micro-electronics graduate of TU Delft and curently works for Philips Semiconductors in Nijmegen.