What It Means To Get A Ph.D.

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What It Means To Get A Ph.D.
Daniel Ángel Jiménez Department of Computer
Science The University of Texas at San Antonio
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A Little About Me

• Grew up in San Antonio, Texas
• 1992 B.S., University of Texas at San Antonio
• 1994 M.S., UTSA
• 1995 Started Ph.D. program at UT Austin
• 1996 Left to take research position at UT
  Health Science Center, San Antonio
• 1999 Returned to UT Austin
• 2002 Ph.D., UT Austin
• 2002 First job assistant prof., CS Dept. at
  Rutgers (from Texas to New Jersey!)
• 2005 Sabbatical leave in Barcelona, UPC (Kaeli
  is in this club, too.)
• 2007 On leave from Rutgers, joined faculty at
  UTSA as assoc. prof.
• 2008 Got tenure at Rutgers thought about
  going back, but no good tacos in Jersey
• 2009 Resigned from Rutgers

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My Research

• Study computer architecture and compilers
• Work on branch prediction
• Introduced perceptron predictor
• Lots of follow-up work on this latest is analog
  circuits
• Other microarchitectural predictors
• Code placement techniques in compiler
• Large window processors
• Power and energy in the compiler
• Also working on improving cache efficiency
• Publish in ISCA, MICRO, HPCA, PLDI

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Moving Back to San Antonio

• Two kinds of people
• People who can move far from home to take a job
  (e.g. Cavazos)
• People who would rather stay near home
• I went to UT Austin because it was close to home.
  My grad school buddies moved to Austin from all
  over because UT Austin is a top school.
• First job was at Rutgers
• Did a lot of good work
• But very homesick the whole time ?
• Still not sure which of the two I am, but pretty
  sure Im not the kind that can take harsh winters!

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What it means to get a Ph.D.

• Getting the Ph.D. itself actually doesn't mean
  all that much
• You have some intelligence and probably some
  skills
• You have perseverance you didnt quit
• You can put Dr. Foo Bar, Ph.D. on your business
  cards
• A Ph.D. doesnt give you super-powers
• Many Ph.D.s are still maladjusted weirdos

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What it means to get a Ph.D.

• Research publications you produced are more
  important
• Show your potential for future research
• Puts you into a category
• The details often arent too important, but there
  must be details
• Did you network while doing your Ph.D.?
• Fellow grad students
• Faculty members at your school
• Bosses colleagues from internships
• Other contacts you met at conferences
• Did you do some teaching while getting your
  Ph.D.?
• Did you help write some grant proposals?

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What it means to get a Ph.D.

• You should be supported as a TA/RA with tuition
• You take some important classes the first year
• The rest of the journey is a lot like an
  apprenticeship
• You learn how to do research by doing it
• You are guided by your advisor(s) and senior grad
  students
• Some take longer than others
• The ones who got out earlier might not be better
  off
• Learn all you can!

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What it means to get a Ph.D.

• Main benefits of a Ph.D.
• More likely to have a career you enjoy
• If you are passionate about computing research
• More likely to have freedom in your career
• You learn how to do research by doing it
• You will have the tools to satisfy your
  intellectual curiosity
• More benefits depend on advisor
• Presentation skills
• Paper writing skills
• Etc.

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What it does not mean to get a Ph.D.

• A Master's degree plus a little more
• Most of the work is the dissertation
• More money than you would have made with a
  Master's
• Not necessarily true
• Easier to get a job
• Not really you're competing for a smaller pool
  of jobs, so it's harder.
• More respect from your colleagues
• Not so much. They will have Ph.D.s, too, if
  you're doing it right

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What it does not mean to get a Ph.D.

• Your life can finally begin when you get the
  Ph.D.
• Nope. You are living your life right now enjoy
  it!
• There will always be milestones graduating,
  getting a job, getting promotions/tenure, getting
  that next grant/paper/project/better job
• You will be happier if you think of graduate
  school as part of your life, not an obstacle to
  getting on with your life
• Enjoy the opportunity to travel
• Grad school is hard but you will look back on it
  as one of the best and most enjoyable times of
  your life!

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Final thought What it means to me

• I don't really think of my Ph.D. as a great
  accomplishment
• I don't think of it as a piece of paper I needed
  to get a job
• It represents a time in my life when my eyes were
  opened to a magnificent world of learning through
  research, and I was invited to participate in
  that world. It's a great feeling!

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The End