What it Means to Get a PhD Marc Snir Department of Computer Science More Never took sabbatical Co-director UPCRC Make parallel programming synonymous with programming Co-PI Blue Waters Largest academic supercomputer (in 2011) What Getting a PhD Does Not Mean Going to an academic career Choosing a career Choosing a lifetime research field Not having a life What It Can Mean Opportunity for five years of unimpeded creativity "CREATIVITY is thinking up new things. INNOVATION is doing new things." -- Theodore Levitt Opportunity for five years of unopposed perfectionism "In art as in science these is no delight without the detail." Nabokov Unrivaled opportunity for soaking knowledge broad and deep An opportunity to reach to your limits and learn what you can and cant do But Disciplines, Departments and Advisors are not all Equal Freedom to roam vs. early binding of advisor More or less constrained academic program Big projects vs. individual projects Face time Quality Bad Reasons not to Get a PhD I am not really sure I can do research I can do it later I really do not like my School I can never see my professors I am frightened to death whenever I have to give a presentation Ways to Choose Research Fields Are you a hedgehog or a fox? "The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing Archilochus Do you want to do, or do you want to know? Do you want to change the world?