research postgrad - good or bad?

floyd.pepper

hi all,
i am currently in the middle of a 3 year postgrad leading
to (hopefully) a phd within he school of electronic eng.
dealing mainly with software analysis of medical images.

My query is this...is there a future after a phd for someone
who does not want to enter academia and is there enough
r+d going on in the private sector in ireland to warrant finishing
my studies. I understand that i will probably have to take
a change in direction from medical imaging after i'm finished.

This is just a question that has being going through my head
for some time and i would value peoples opinion.

thanks,

Kevin_rc_ie

is there enough
r+d going on in the private sector in ireland

no, in my non-professional opinion.

it's difficult to say how likely you are to get a good job suitable of your academic qualification in a few years in ireland, but i'd imagine there is tons of stuff available for the likes of you in the states.

if u stay here you'll probably end up working for a some big financial institution. which wouldn't be a bad move but hardly worth 3 years of a technical masters.

however, what the hell do i know why dont u ask ppl within college.

floyd.pepper

cheers kev,
thanks for your advice.
its hard to ask people in the college, they
are still in academic 'bubble' so to speak and may
not even be too sure what is happening in industry
themselves.
i am startin to write letters to companies where
i would like to work at the moment but i don't
want to sound too faint-hearted or questioning
about what i have been doing for hte past three
years, that will be something that i have to push
as an asset, whether they see it as one or not.
that is really my question? how is a phd viewed by
employers?

i think i paid too much attention to mary harney
when she spoke of ireland becoming a higher end
producer of more skilled products, namely r+d as
we can't compete with the likes of china in manu-
facturing. as for a finiacial institution, i don't think
i'd have what it takes at leastwithout an MBA under
my belt.

Kevin_rc_ie

jsut develop a cocaine addiction and u'll fit right in. well dont companies have the view that ppl without phds are more easily trainable cos they're less stuck in their ways etc. that's what geology phd guy told me.

David19

Phds are usually very skilled at something in particular. The question is whether there's jobs out there to fit that skill. I imagine with the phd you have there is. Im not sure if it'll be in ireland though. As kev said the states might be your best bet. Would the career people have any clue? have you tried them?

floyd.pepper

you could say that someone who has being in a job
for 3 years is hard to train as well. so in some ways
its just like having a technical job for 3 years and then
looking to move to another job.

there are relevant jobs in the states alrite, but i would
like to stay in ireland too.

ok guys, i have to bolt, cheers for the advice/chat. just
going to snort this one last line of coke and i'm outa
here *sniffle,sniffle*!!

Evilution

You could always try the UK. Not as far away as the USA, but the opportunities are there. Have a scooby around on www.postgradireland.com or doctorjob.com and see what you can find. Maybe take a year out after you finished your phd?