Doing something useful with your * PhD *

Doing something useful with your *** PhD *** In pursuit of an academic career A (South) African approach Willem Clarke WA Clarke

Disclaimer • Not for the “old hands” here • You did that, got the conference T-shirt (again) • Its too late anyway • Unashamedly biased towards an academic career • Invite me back for another talk to get a different perspective • No maths, sorry • You will have to concentrate more to understand this • Not just for coding freaks • These are the sole opinions of the author WA Clarke

Remember A ***PhD*** is only the beginning, • not the end. • Contrary to what many and their parents students believe! WA Clarke

Comic Relief WA Clarke

Overview Always customary at conferences and workshops • What does a PhD provide? • Career planning • A career in the academic world • General advice WA Clarke

What does a PhD provide? • The obvious things • Proof that you are a specialist in your field • Proof of your ability to do research • Evidence that you have a deeper understanding of theory and technology (we hope...) • The not (always) so obvious things • You can work independently (with a professor nearby...) • Can assimilate complex information, create new theory • Writing ability (thesis, articles) • Can present your work orally (conferences, seminars,...) • You are clever (after all) • Show ability to be thorough and responsible with theory • Shown the potential to learn • Can actually finish something WA Clarke

What does a PhD not provide? • Any indication that you can practise what you preach • Theory good, practical skills still unproven • Proficiency in soft skills • Career survival 101 • Any guarantee of employment • Any guarantee of quick career advancement • Work experience • Humility WA Clarke

Comic relief WA Clarke

A PhD: Doing a cost-benefit analysis • A significant life investment • Is it really worth it? • Cost • Many years of study • Missing opportunity costs • Benefits • Hopefully pursued your research interests • Entry requirement to a career in research • Overstayed your welcome as a student • Better career prospects?! • Employability ? • Ego trip? • What else? WA Clarke

Employment options • Pursue academic/research career • PhD an entry requirement • Goal • Research fellow • Professor • Industry career • PhD mostly optional initially • Can be an advantage in later career stages • Too late to do then, what with partner, children, work , bond WA Clarke

Career Planning - I • For most, career planning involves • Landing first job (which actually pays money) • Surveying the next interesting job (or project) • Managing earnings (upwards obviously) • Fulfilling some location objectives (international) • Some consideration w.r.t. employer • Standing (size, social responsibility) • Industry sector (growing) • General work conditions (most convenient, relaxed) • Training potential • Promotion path (quickest) • ... WA Clarke

Career Planning - II • Missing • Clear objectives of where they are going • Short, medium and long term objectives • Any plan on how to get there • Cost estimation of path to achieve objective(s) • Risk assessment of path • Do not “project manage” their CVs! WA Clarke

A career in the academic world WA Clarke

Reality in (South) Africa - I • School system not delivering • Shortage of skilled teachers • Small pool of students for science and engineering careers • Global skills shortage • Skills – South Africa’s largest export to the world • Severe shortage of skilled people (industry and academic) • Higher salaries offered by industry • Industry requires “work ready” students from universities • Pressure on research skills • Socio-economic pressures • Governments facing many urgent needs • Housing, infrastructure, health, safety, .... • Research lower on their political agendas • First generation graduates • Present unique challenges to the academic world WA Clarke

Reality in (South) Africa - II • Limited sizes of local markets • Technology trade-off • Buy (import) vs. Develop(research) • Impact the research agenda of local industry • System designers vs product developers • Basic research not high up on the priority list • Focus of engineering training • Generalists rather than specialists • Wider coverage, lacks depth in theory • Opportunity = Innovation WA Clarke

Reality in (South) Africa - III • Impact on academic world • Fewer people in long term academic careers • High turn-over of academic staff • Few mentors to learn from • A profession without seasoned professionals • “One person” research groups • Difficulty in obtaining research funding • Limited funding for basic research • Shortage of post graduate students WA Clarke

Academic career path • Mostly applicable to our local context • Academic stream • Lecturer (min Masters Degree) • Senior Lecturer (min PhD) • Associate Professor (PhD, papers, students, funding) • Professor (same, just much more of it, international standing) WA Clarke

The Peter Principle In any organisation, people will rise to their level of incompetence and stay there. • Start as a gifted Masters/PhD student • Research and publications will get you there • Appointed as a lecturer • Other skills now also required • Teaching, fund raising, people skills, time management, guidance, ... • Difference between being a student, and being the supervisor • Lack of any of these may negatively impact your career. WA Clarke

Job description of an academic • Committing research • The reason why we do it! • Teaching • Aaaaarghhh! – A necessary evil? • Supervision and leading research • Undergraduate and post-graduate • Administration • @#$%@# ! • Funding • Students + equipment+conferences = $$$$ you need to raise • Committees • Meetings, politics, mostly wasted time WA Clarke

Roles of an academic - I • An expert • Expected • You have a PhD after all! • Don’t get stuck in your PhD topic • You can change • Don’t change too often • Need to establish depth • Balance between quantity and quality WA Clarke

Roles of an academic - II • A successful marketer • Market yourself, your ideas and work • You are always marketing your personal brand! • What is your personal brand? • Define it! • Market to undergraduate students • Future students • Market to industry • Future funding • Market to peers • Future collaboration WA Clarke

Roles of an academic - III • A successful salesperson • Raising funds is crucial • Successful proposal writing • Master it or wither • In short: Sell vision, confidence and profitability • Good relationships is a key attribute • One of the most difficult skills for an engineer WA Clarke

Roles of an academic - IV • A psychologist • Often play this role as study leader • Students go through emotional cycles • Learn to expect it, identify it, and how to manage it • Learn about people • A tall order for any engineering type WA Clarke

Roles of an academic - V • An educator • Core funding vehicle for the university • Important • PhD ≠ teaching expert • Read, think, practice, evaluate, CHANGE! • Some suggestions: • Show solution strategies rather than only solutions • Define top 5 outcomes • Focus your teaching around them • Plan lessons as a show, a theatre production • Get professional help • Or marry a teacher! WA Clarke

Roles of an academic - VI • A good administrator • Need to nail this early in your career • Sustainable growth can only be built on a solid administration system • Design (and redesign) an administration system that works for you • Remember to ensure scalability WA Clarke

Roles of an academic - VII • A leader, strategist and visionary • Learn to formulate and sell your vision for the future • Research • Funding • Formulate and follow strategies for your career, research, research group WA Clarke

General advice WA Clarke

General advice - I • Always be a profitable resource • Deliver more than you earn • Carefully determine how value is • Measured and treasured • Created and • Delivered • Align your output accordingly WA Clarke

General advice - II • Make the bureaucracy your friend • Cannot actually do without it • A problem when it takes over! • Learn the system • Utilise the system • Find the “hyper space” portals WA Clarke

General advice - III • Find the pockets of money/resources • They are always there • Find out who controls it • Keep abreast of national/international funding opportunities • Hone the skills to write appropriate proposals WA Clarke

Be a reader • Read quickly (reading speed) • Theses tend to be large, reviewing papers • Don’t worry – it does go in! • Read wide (be an interesting person) • Wider knowledge tends to provide a larger pool for innovation • Industry knowledge can drive novel research • Read consistently • Different views on a topic • Refuel the knowledge tank • Read intelligently (don’t waste time) • Overview, judge, detail • Read with a strategy (How to build your library...) • Establish a wide introductory base (introductory texts) • Get different views for better understanding • Go into topical depths WA Clarke

Choose your research field with care • Try to join an established group • Starting new a bummer • Learn to dig where the gold is • The more you practise, the luckier you get • Establish your mine where there is a future • One nugget does not make a mine • What is the life span of the research field? • Where is the state of technology – did you miss the boat? • It takes at least 5 years of hard work to establish yourself WA Clarke

And finally.... • Students will only achieve as much as you expect • Therefore expect the best! • In research, meetings and in general • Check definitions to establish a common understanding • Plan two steps ahead, rather than only one. • Religious wars about tools are a waste of time • Never relinquish quality • Pick those wars that you can win • Negotiate peace before the first shot is fired • The first person to get angry in a meeting loses • Get a mentor. Always! • Be known as a decision maker • Man the coffee pot – its where creativity happens WA Clarke

Doing something useful with your *** PhD ***