Why a Career in Industry?
Scope of Talk

This segment will focus on technology-driven SV type
company
– Many other types, obviously, which are not covered here, e.g.:
» Business computing
» Services
» Mgmt consulting


Will talk about high-level technical-track position
Academia vs. industry is a false dichotomy: A career in
industry is towards one end of a continuum
What is “1 + 1?”
“ACME Industries wanted to hire someone to solve a
Really Hard Problem for them…”
The Profit Motive

Purpose of Industry is to make money
Dr. Eldon Tyrell, from Blade Runner: “Commerce is our goal”


Work must be targeted – whether directly or indirectly –
towards producing a commercially viable “product”
Primary path to goal:
1. Assess best features of what technology is currently out there
2. Improve upon candidate technologies, or create new ones, until
you produce solution that…
» Successfully addresses needs
» Maximizes cost/benefit
» Satisfies time and resource constraints
Examples




Sequoia: extent-based file system
ADS: real-time obstacle avoidance system
Toshiba MRI: Overall system architecture and UI
Arris: pharmacophore modeling and drug design
Pros:






Get to build real systems
Work is applied and relevant
Satisfaction from seeing actual use
Higher sustained intensity (pro AND con)
Higher “quality” of product -> greater self-satisfaction
Teamwork
Cons:


Don’t have luxury of extended exploration for intellectual
curiosity
Some restraints on publication
– Trade secrets
– Allocation of time

Dilbertian “pointy-haired” politics
– Actually, simpler than in academia (i.e., motivation usually power)
– Much easier to quit
Industry vs. Academia
vis-à-vis Academic Freedom

Even in academia, intellectual freedom has constraints:
– Grad students: must align area of interest to advisor’s specialty
and grants
– Professors: must align (or recast) research definition to fit
available grants

Constrained (subtly) by community’s self-definition
– Straying too far from community “mean,” or trying to break into
neighboring discipline, can trigger turf wars.

Industry often reserves resources for “pie in the sky”
ideas, esp. at larger companies
Some Random Additional Observations on
Corporate Structure


Expect to change research areas
Technical Track vs. Management Track
– Some companies implement this more successfully than others

No tenure
– But tenure can be a double-edged sword

Some politics
– Personal observation is that it is qualitatively different from
politics in academia
– more simple-minded, based more on power, less on standing,
prestige, turf
Industry’s Technological Advantages

Industry often has superior technology, but is more
secretive
– E.g.: SoftAPR vs. FEATURE


Access to real data, often generated for your application
Availability of better resources
– As long as need is appropriately focused
Conclusions

A job in industry should be a strong consideration if:
– You like to build concrete solutions to real-world problems
– You want/need the satisfaction of seeing people use what you
build

You should consider a more research-oriented career path
if:
– You want the freedom to explore wherever your ideas take you
– You get distracted easily :-)

There is a wide spectrum of career paths – find your spot!