Hello HN,<p>I had the luck (did I?) to study machine learning when it wasn’t cool yet (master degree in 2012). I went for the PhD route and by 2017 I was happily employed in a promising startup as ML researcher with a focus on Computer Vision. Great salary, challenging topic to work on, great.<p>Fast forward to 2023 and the startup is now a big company, R&D hacking days are gone and I’m a senior software engineer with an even better salary.<p>Truth is that I never trained for a SE role and I don’t fit at all. My research mindset is of no use and I end up being assigned all the “exploratory” work that no one in interested about.<p>I contributed a lot to the success of this company and now I feel like the person who cannot be let go but with nothing to do.<p>I’m looking for job posts but I have the feeling that ML positions are pretty much all the same, fundamentally boring.<p>I dream of going back to academia but I cannot afford the salary 50%+ salary cut (family grown too in these years).<p>Anyone in the same situation managed to pivot to something else?
From your description, you have the ability to learn whatever you chose. So if being a SE appeals to you, why not learn whatever is required in whatever domain you chose? Being a serial specialist is rather lucrative and intellectually stimulating.<p>Having been both a researcher and adjunct lecturer in academia, my observation is that the MBAs have hijacked the institutions and universities have become just another large bureaucratic business focused on maximizing profits.
If you like research over engineering and want high pay, there are well-paid commercial ML research jobs. They're competitive but given that you have a PhD and a decent amount of experience, you might have a good chance.