How to make the best out of a PhD in LLM /u/megeek95 CSCQ protests reddit

Hello everyone,

I just got the opportunity of getting hired at my local university to develop an LLM in a hardware department (electronics development) and this project is vinculated to a PhD program, so I guess I am enrolling in that now. For personal context, I am 29M from southern Europe, with a BSc in Comp.Science and a MSc in AI and 1 YOE in ML and Data Engineering. I never intended to go the PhD path, but we all know the current work scenario with constant layoffs and ultra difficulty to enter (I struggled to get interviews for months until this). This being said, this project is actually oriented to transform it into a real software product and the position includes competitive salary and also 9-5 commercial worktime, so it’s not just a thesis between the professor and I but also a contract with a university.

My concerns come with how I can use this position to my advantage. Building an LLM from the scratch + building an infrastructure + front around it is really interesting and I am sure it will count as valuable experience in the future, but at the same time I don’t want to stay in my remote local town with the same people and same routine the rest of my life and I would like to relocate again abroad.

I need suggestions on how you would approach this, I feel a little anxious about the whole situation: The thesis and the contract are supposed to last 4 years max and in that time, I would like to max out my profile so that, if I decide to move back to industry again, I have the experience, the skills and the potential to be a good employee in AI or Data Engineering fields.

Thanks!

Hello everyone,

I just got the opportunity of getting hired at my local university to develop an LLM in a hardware department (electronics development) and this project is vinculated to a PhD program, so I guess I am enrolling in that now. For personal context, I am 29M from southern Europe, with a BSc in Comp.Science and a MSc in AI and 1 YOE in ML and Data Engineering. I never intended to go the PhD path, but we all know the current work scenario with constant layoffs and ultra difficulty to enter (I struggled to get interviews for months until this). This being said, this project is actually oriented to transform it into a real software product and the position includes competitive salary and also 9-5 commercial worktime, so it’s not just a thesis between the professor and I but also a contract with a university.

My concerns come with how I can use this position to my advantage. Building an LLM from the scratch + building an infrastructure + front around it is really interesting and I am sure it will count as valuable experience in the future, but at the same time I don’t want to stay in my remote local town with the same people and same routine the rest of my life and I would like to relocate again abroad.

I need suggestions on how you would approach this, I feel a little anxious about the whole situation: The thesis and the contract are supposed to last 4 years max and in that time, I would like to max out my profile so that, if I decide to move back to industry again, I have the experience, the skills and the potential to be a good employee in AI or Data Engineering fields.

Thanks!