Juri Ranieri

What I learned during my PhD. … or …

What I would change if I could go back…

Days are long, four years are very short

Day to day approach

TAM, May 11th 2015

Be organized!

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Keep track of your progress, Keep track of interesting ideas, Always write clean code, use repositories.

TAM, May 11th 2015

Be focused!

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Work on only one or two projects. E.g. one core project, one side (fun) project.

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Design a workflow, stick to it!

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Workflow for writing, coding, figures & RR Once it is in place, stick to it. It makes wonders! (thesis…)

TAM, May 11th 2015

Read a lot! Keep studying!

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Read books (better than papers), Read papers (keep yourself updated), Take one class per semester…

TAM, May 11th 2015

No laptop one day a week

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“… when you are trying to concentrate on a task, and an e-mail is sitting unread in your inbox, can reduce your effective IQ by 10 points”

“It takes more energy to shift your attention from task to task. It takes less energy to focus.”

(The Organized Mind, by Daniel J Levitin)

TAM, May 11th 2015

Develop CS skills!

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We are generally weak in CS… Don’t use exclusively Matlab (hidden details), Study algorithms (example will follow)!

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Follow blogs, read scientific magazines...

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Don’t close yourself inside the office, Read blogs related to us (e.g. NuitBlanche), Read Science/Nature/SPM/PNAS.

or how to make sure people know your name…

Public relations

TAM, May 11th 2015

Be visible (people busier than you actually do it!)

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Reproducible research is a must, Keep your website updated, Think about having a blog or iPython NBs

TAM, May 11th 2015

What to do at conferences?

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Go to all plenaries. Content is not so interesting, people are. Spend less time with your colleagues.

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Go to an ICASSP less, go to a workshop instead.

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ICASSP is a lot of fun, but big and dispersive, Workshops are small, you meet people. Who is going to Les Diablerets?

TAM, May 11th 2015

Talk with other researchers in different fields

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You may discover new open problems, and have a real impact on those fields.

Job hunting

The hardest part of the PhD…

TAM, May 11th 2015

Finding a nice job is hard!

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You are looking for a random postdoc? Fine. Finding an interesting job? Hard. Finding a job in Switzerland? Almost NP.

TAM, May 11th 2015

Start looking early, don’t wait for your defense.

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Consider one year to find a job, Staying in the lab is not efficient, If you go to the US, think of the visa problem.

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Do an internship, maybe two…

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You lack “real” engineering experience. Internship are a great way to fill the hole. One of the easiest way to find a job after.

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Let me repeat: you need CS skills!

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Balance between interdisciplinary and focus.

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Fun way to publish a paper. Industry: they look for an expert in a “field”. Professorship: they look for the best guy.

My background Academia Industry

TAM, May 11th 2015

The game changed a lot

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“I had 20 papers and got a job”… not anymore. Publication record is now just a necessary condition, not sufficient.

TAM, May 11th 2015

Network is fundamental

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Most opportunities are within your network. Found an interesting opening: look if somebody you know works there!

Questions?