Hang yourself editionPrevious Thread: >>17057101Age survey still ongoing at https://strawpoll.com/mpnb1wzXvy5This thread exists to ask questions regarding careers associated to STEM.>Discussion on academia-based career progression>Discussion on penetrating industry from academia>Or anything in relation to STEM employment or development within STEM academia!>If you have a question, before posting, read some of the older posts and ,if you can, try to answer their questions on your post. That way the thread isn't an endless log of unanswered questions.Resources for protecting yourself from academic marxists:>https://www.thefire.org/ (US)>https://www.jccf.ca/ (Canada)Information resource:>https://sciencecareergeneral.neocities.org/>*The Chad author is seeking additional input to diversify the content into containing all STEM fields. Said author regularly views these /scg/ threads.No anons have answered your question? Perhaps try posting it here:>https://academia.stackexchange.com/An archive of some of the previous editions of /scg/:http://warosu.org/sci/thread/15740454
this job market has me questioning my entire self worth and whether I should just an hero myself
>>17079084You truly should if it is a matter of pride for you to not enter those paths which return to farming
>>17079095Like shipbuilding?
Question for all the people living in civilised countries: why don't you just join a trade? Trade seems to pay well enough, it's stable, unlikely to be automated any time soon and not sedentary. If I were living in the west, I'd totally become an electrician or a welder or something. t. jeet math grad
Got my first job in EE designing substationsIf my autistic ass is employed you can be too
are patents worth anything if you are a newgrad? Should I write it down in my CV?
You know what? I am glad AI destroyed programming. Now if I need to use some numerical package I don't have to spend hours going through documentation and setting up tests and wait days for response on forums. If some faggot decided to make API overly complicated because of his autism or whatever, it stopped being my problem.
Achievement unlocked: Quit your job in the first week.Swag.
>>17079336yes and yes
>basedMathematics Physics Analytic Philosophy Classics>cringeEconomics Business administration Law>tolerableEngineering Architecture
>>17079418>Philosophy under based>Law under cringe
>>17079418Cool list from 10+ years ago jeez
Not a regular in these threads, seems like it's mostly crying about the state of things (understandable) but how come I never see anyone mention mining engineering? If you live in US/CA/AUS it seems like a good way to make a lot of money if you can handle the lifestyle of being in isolated places (which scientific autists here should be attracted to?). Later in your career there seems to be opportunities to go into mining consulting or finance, which might look like a more "typical" role in an urban center. When I went to uni I hadn't even heard of it.
>>17079440Because all of us have already made our beds. The average age here is like 30 years old with a combined years of experience of about 5.
>>17079317dewing whut?
>>17079418Is this categorization by how well AI does them?
>>17079451>The average age here is like 30 years old 74% are under 30 and around half are 25 or under
>>17079555I doubt /sci/ is that retarded to put their actual age
I solved all of math. What career path do you recommend?
>>17079555>tfw 37 but look like I am 17What should I put in?
>>1707955574% are vain lying rapidly ageing millenials
>>17079461Client wants to add a connection to the grid - I design it around a bunch of constraints - civil engineers build it if my boss is happy my design won't kill anybody5 or so years of that and I can go for chartership and hopefully never have to worry about job security again
>>17079583Patent lawyer.
>>17079583Get a tattoo and start applying to PhDs
>>17079746Don't even get me started. I honestly want to apologise to the european patent attorney guy because I am no seriously considering this as a career. I take it all back. It's real and its possibly happening to me.
>>17079178because being a tradie means working long hours in shitty conditionsspending 8 hours in an air conditioned office where you have to listen to stupid coworkers is still preferable because you know your day ends when the clock hits a certain hour, not until the job is finishedI spent some time as a roofer and found the schedule too hectic to have a life outside of workeveryone I knew in roofing who had kids was hard pushing them not to enter the tradesanyway that's why we stemfag
>>17079336Definitely, >>17079402 is correct.You can also add these to your LinkedIn profile.
>>17079418>MathematicsAdvanced unemployability that is only getting worse.>PhysicsCorrect.>Analytic PhilosophyGreek detected.>ClassicsOnly if you want to be a British civil servant.
what did we think of this?
>>17079909>because being a tradie means working long hoursYou choose your own hours. >in shitty conditionsOnly in certain ones, and they are not "shitty conditions". They are manly high-T conditions. Have you considered transitioning?
>>17080120>You choose your own hours. Only if you have your own business. Which is the higher risk/higher reward path in general but it is not for everyone.>Only in certain ones, and they are not "shitty conditions". They are manly high-T conditions. Have you considered transitioning?All well and good in your 20s, your 50s it's a different story. Which ties to the next point, wage growth and career development are where the white-collar jobs are generally better.
>>17079959I think this guy lives in fuckin lala land
I had a interview at a semi conductor company first interview over zoom they didn't ask me any technical details just my cv and what I did. Should I expect more of the same in the in person interview? I asked them before and they said only a couple questions but still want 2h for this.
>>17079909I talking about right now. Steamfaggery seems to be a dead end now except if you're doing some heavy field work like civil or power engineering.
>>17080214I got asked literally zero technical questions for my current job.
>>17080306so its normal? I never had second interview before so idk whats standard. People always told me code test etc. was standard. Its for a test engineer position and I do have a degree so maybe they assume I am not lying....
>>17080313It is standard for swe and consulting.
>>17080214This is probably just the hr screening where the roastie/chadlet make a mental inventory of all your weird mannerisms and physical shortcomings. Don't worry about it.
>>17080336no I already had a round with HR and they just nodded along this time its just the VP(?) of the group and the product manager.
>>17080348i cant fucking get anything right why do i even go on
If it is an entry level engineering job they just assume you are retarded and that they will have to teach you. The ask you behavioural questions to see if you can be taught and can work in a group.
>started to sense "crab in a bucket" mentality in our company due to ai layoffsi am so tired bros...
>>17079929>Correct.https://youtu.be/RkLpzNaHQfQ
>>17080437I have been at such companies. There were also suicides. Gross mismanagement later killed the company.The only senible thing to do is to polish your CV/resume/LinkedIn profile and prepare for a job change.
>>17080449I refuse to believe people actually watch AI-generated videos...
>>17080513Malfoid anime.
>>17080513my boomer father vegges out in his lean back chair surfing ai revenge videos all day long on youtube he is a neoliberal and his favorites seem to be a woman who was prevented from advancement by men in the military in business or family holding her back but she always finds a way to win and get all of the money and the jobs in the end my old boomer dad is dumping views into every si slop leftoid revenge porn video that was prompted into existence and so the jeets prompt out more
which to choose?> 52k job at litho company adjusting mirrors and working with lasers. Long commute but in 2-3 years I could land something at a big player like ASML> 65k at insurance company writing RPA stuff. 4 days remote mostly move around banks and consulting no more physics? Doing a phd would also be a option I guess but I hate how much time I waste there. Also I keep getting rejected from service technician jobs why....
>>17080715I'd do anything to work in semiconductors related, and everything to not work in any "business" "finance" etc related.
>>17080722why?
It's not ok what's been done to me.
>>17080715>rejected from service technician jobs why....because phds do technician work now
>>17080723Do the second type of job and you'll know why.
>>17080715Go for the litho work. The insurance job is just waiting to be automated by AI.Also try to get the litho company to pay for your PhD. Some countries have special programs for people doing a PhD while in industry.>>17080740Yes, at the cutting edge that is true. Many, if not all TSMC technicians have a PhD.
The mass firings will continue until morale improves:>Microsoft to Trim Workforce With Buyout Offers for 60,000 Staffhttps://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-10-26/microsoft-to-offer-buyouts-to-60-000-workers-in-latest-cost-cut>Microsoft will offer buyouts to about 60,000 workers, part of the company’s efforts to trim costs and retool its workforce for the artificial intelligence era.
Hospital offered zero flexibility. I'm gonna keep contracting and just start my infectious disease research masters.
Anyone was AI-hesitant but then just kinda gave up on ideals and now slops it up like everyone else? I was justifying it with>you have to handhold and check it so thoroughly it's faster to do the work myselfbut now I can't find an argument anymore.
>>17080946I just use AI as a junior assistant. I do the work but get an AI to review the works but never to draft or correct anything. No doubt it will get better but so far I want to avoid needless risks.
Roblox or nuclear weapons?
>>17080997Do you even have a programming job? Were you ever a Junior assistant? Did you ever have one working for you?>>17080946There is a pretty simple line: the companies with endless compute still have major bugs that last forever on their trackers. This is a blatant contradiction on proposed capability. Think about any force multiplier claim, because they should be running well over the entire intellectual power of the entire nation. If they are right, then they are mouth breathers.
>>17079084Same. If I don't get something good, I'm just going to NEET lmao
>>17081000Lmao (nuclear weapons)
>>17080855>Many, if not all TSMC technicians have a PhD.Why though? TSMC doesn't design chips right? They just get the blueprint and then put it in the CPU printer. Why isn't it a trade?
>>17080153>All well and good in your 20s, your 50s it's a different story.most are lucky to even reach 30-35 without chronic health problems from most any trade work. Shit is generally not if (but when) you will have an accident of some sort that gives you chronic issues (back and neck are particularly vulnerable)
>>17079178None of what you said is true https://asteriskmag.com/issues/15/so-you-think-you-could-be-an-electricianThe high paying trade jobs are just as selective and even more reliant on personal connections than high paying STEM jobs, most of them pay terribly with no hope of breaking into a better career. They're unstable because of high injury rates and the enormous financial risk if you own your own business. A lot of work involves being stuck in awkward positions or performing repetive notions for hours which ends up being worse physically than being sedentary. Entire classes of trade jobs have already been automated away.
>>17081338>enormous financial risk if you own your own businessCannot be overstated. There is so much regulation on trades in the west that a single fuck up can financially destroy you. Only big corpos can handle it.
>>17081338You can feed yt people with a silver spoon and they'll still find some thing to complain about.
Oh yeah, optics is a great career this side of the pond
>>17081005>Do you even have a programming job?Not anymore, these days I am a consultant. We too see AI will change our work dramatically. I cannot remember the last time we hired anyone. Fired, sure, plenty.>Were you ever a Junior assistant?Sure, or a trainee as it is called in this line of work.>Did you ever have one working for you?Yes, several, but not anymore.
>>17081484Errrr, would that happen to be Quantum Design Oxford?
>>17081516This was just from a post I saw on LinkedIn by some recruiter, did not specify companies.Point being, these roles are presumably looking for PhD + some years of experience in supposedly hot topics and they pay £50k.
>>17081522Grim.
>>17081484what the fuck is this pay?
>>17081562Welcome to tech salaries in UK and Europe, may it continue to amuse you.Fucking decade of qualifications to get paid as much as a fast food wagie in a major US city, with higher taxes and comparable living costs.
>>17081522>did not specify companies.Huge red flag. Oxford Instruments that later changed into Quantum Design Oxford, had a bad reputation for decades. I would expect them to pay peanuts. I would have gone for an interview, demanded twice the salary, knowing full well they would never accept it, and then I would have followed the advice in the FAQ: get out of the UK. >>17081552They are well known for more than just poverty grade salaries.
you are talking as if photonics was ever a lucrative career
>>17081591but they get free uni and free healthcare and can be neet very easily if so desired
>>17081755>free uni>free healthcareLOL. LMAO even.
Anyone here actually buy a premium AI subscription? Considering getting Claude Pro>2nd year phd in energy>doing some plasma fixation stuff>have to wait a month or two for repairs to our lab>consult with PI about what to do in the meantime>bring up doing some 0D simulation work >"it's not my specialty but you can do it in the meantime, can't hurt">have zero experience, but using llms I manage to replicate the examples on the website>moving on to applying my own use cases>hit the limit every time before I finish debugging or get a successful run
>>17081935>using an LLM without knowing the subject
>>17081822reddit retort
>>17081935What sort of jeet university are you in that they don't provide you with a max subscription?
>>17081935I have switched between GPT and Claude over the last year as the companies leapfrog each other.If you use it for actual work it can pay for itself pretty quickly. I have simple coding/electronics and, recently, CAD stuff that I throw its way. Then I do other work while Claude figures it out. It's boilerplate stuff but that is what it pretty reliably does okay.Beyond a certain level of complexity it begins to fuck up. For small, defined tasks it works fine. Ideally you know enough about what it is doing to make modifications and adjustments to get the final 20% right. Vibe coding a whole project and using it for things to build upon long-term is creating a slop grenade. It will work okay until it doesn't work at all and then unfucking it is more work than doing it yourself to begin with.If both 1) the task is large and 2) you have no experience in the area, I would say it is likely to end up badly.
I cannot get over that italians unironically wear literal laurels at graduation
>>17082078In Funland you get a hat and a sword after a PhD
In the UK you get reduced to "bare life" and treated with a subhuman level of dignity, or lack thereof, after a PhD.
>>17082154I left the UK just weeks after completing my PhD. I returned once for a conference.
>>17082207You are a genius
>>17082214More of a survivalist.
This is a real LinkedIn profile that I translated to English from Swedish. This guy is employed and some of you are not. What is your excuse?
>>17082387my cv is only> 2012-2026 bachelor of science physicsI don't have anything else.
>>17082416It took you 14 years for your Bachelor? Why?
>>17082421no clue myself I even did fairly well in my course but it took a long time for me to join a group and do my thesis.
>>17082424You just procrastinated for 14 years? Damn
I have been getting raped and let down badly for the last 14 years. Everything has gone wrong and I tried so hard. Everyone who told me that my "russell group" math degree was a good idea deserves to rot in hell. I have suffered beyond all reason.
>>17082425so does this count as a excuse?
>>17082480Yes, but if you spend 14 years procrastinating you are likely mentally ill
>>17082557Would you ever shut up man
Mate I'll have you on Mumsnet getting transvestigated in five seconds if you don't pipe down
>>17081513This shit is cartoonishly unsustainable. Literally african tier consumption of infrastructure for short term gain. Whichever megacorp first adopts cult strategies and trains desperate newgradcels will inherit the future once the current crop of senior employees retire and/or die off and there's no one to replace them.Or AI becomes good enough to replace them too and forever breaks the ladder of social mobility. Either way it's fucked
Yeah good for you you fuckin faggot got a nice job on linkendin there huh piece of shit
on the other hand, i could leverage my talents to bring about the palestinian glasser 3000
>>17082773I'll put your speccy little head under a brick if you take this job
Programming since age 11 on Linux, before the twin towers fell.Mech engineering degree.Software engineering degree.Internships all the way through uni.Tons of programming and cybersec certs. Never failed a cert test.I'm almost 40 and never had $2,000 at any time in my life.Fuck 'em, I didn't wanna go to heaven anyway.
Lol. Lmao.
>>17082699It'll take 20y for current seniors to retire. They will reach Immensely Hyper Advanced SI by that time.
>>17078904I got a job, later virgins
>>17082801If that happens it's just over for peasants. The only question remaining is whether the new landed gentry manages to ride the singularity-tiger or it devours them too.
>>17082832see you in 9 months
>>17082952sounds good, I'll be making 6 figs soon and be fucking your mom by then. Hopefully she's sexy as fuck and has big titties
did the in person interview for the test engineer position zero technical questions which was quite surprising. Also they are kinda low balling me and I just accepted it. Is that stupid? Should I negotiate more? There is only the contract left.
>>17082699>This shit is cartoonishly unsustainable.I know. And I have told management of my concerns about the future.>Literally african tier consumption of infrastructure for short term gain.Training juniors is expensive and management prefers to leave that to others. Problem is, our competitors think the same. It is fairly obvious where this is heading.>Whichever megacorp first adopts cult strategies and trains desperate newgradcels will inherit the future once the current crop of senior employees retire and/or die off and there's no one to replace them.When we reach the point when people pay to be trained, we will already be in deep trouble.>>17082801>It'll take 20y for current seniors to retireNo. My youngst colleagues are about 40. About a third of my colleagues are 60+. Many could retire any time, and they will probably not be replaced.Après moi, le déluge.
>>17082773Israeli universities are surprisingly badly rated:https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/latest/world-rankingThe best one is in Tel Aviv and that city is supposed to be secular and western in style and also a popular target with Iran. What could go wrong?>>17082787They will probably have no problems filling both positions. Not sure about The Glasser 3000 though.
>>17083154The world is full of evil people sure
>>17083166Not really. People are unironically just retarded and mentally ill.
>>17083174I wish I could still believe this
Man where they fuck did all the entry level jobs go
where have all the juniors gonelong time passingwhere have all the juniors gonelong time agowhere have all the juniors goneclankers killed them every onewhen will they ever learnwhen will they ever learn
>>17083312i will rape you
sorry i dont know why i said that i saw some asshole write one of those self-congratulatory "i got a job at a frontier lab and this is what i learned" blog posts and when i looked he was a princeton grad and had 1 squintillion internships and got my government to spend my hard earned tax pounds on burnishing his fucking chinless resume and i lost it i fucking lost it sorry
>>17083407>i saw some asshole write one of those self-congratulatory "i got a job at a frontier lab and this is what i learned" blog postsi assume this is LinkedIn, if so>check my toilet after shidding>see poopoo and peepee>seethe
What are good textbooks on electronics and circuit analysis?
>>17083465Yeah but sometimes you might find a shitty job amidst all the shit
>>17083589sometimes i find a piece of sweetcorn in the turds
>>17081755A British postdoc postion pays as much as a burger flipper in the UK. The difference is that one of the has massive student debt.
>>17083963>The difference is that one of the has massive student debt.no they don't, uni is free in the UK
>>17083522>textbooks on electronicsThe Art of Electronics, by Horowitz and Hill. It has been a staple recommendation for decades.
>>17083969>We are a non-profit making government-owned organisation that administers loans and grants to students in colleges and universities in the UK.
>>17083972I worked in the same place as Win Hill for a while. On the few occasions we spoke I felt like an absolute moronic reptile.
>>17083522jokes aside AARL or TAoE or Practical Electronics are good starting points.
>>17083963The years you spent in a university not getting paid are equivalent to debt
