
Ask HN: What is the best way for a software engineer to switch to research? - lasryaric
I am a software engineer living in Berkeley and I think more and more about research, and the way to get there is not clear in my mind.
Should I study online? Go back to school? Get a job as a software engineer in a company that focuses on research?<p>here is my background:<p>- dropped out of school at the age of 18 to start my startup ( www.producteev.com )
- Learned the basics of AI at wit.ai
- Worked at Apple on push notifications &#x2F; iMessage<p>I would love to work in the energy industry for example, but I am open to other things.<p>Any advice is welcome.
======
sebg
Most of the advice you receive will be to do a PhD as that's what most
researches have and what they do.

That may be hard without a bachelors degree, prior research knowledge, and
potential academic recommendations.

One way to short-circuit this is to take your software engineering skills to a
research lab and work as a research assistant.

This allows you: a) contact with academics who are doing research b) the
visibility of what research actually is c) to add value from day one

Most labs are in heavy need of software engineers to help with software
related tasks.

So first focus on what type of research you are interested in (look at as many
research labs in as many different disciplines as possible) and then contact
them to see how you can help.

~~~
shas3
This! In fact, I know a couple of researchers who started as programmers in
research groups and research labs, and slowly transitioned into PhDs and
later, faculty positions. Especially if you have specific skills. I think the
kind of labs that would hire you would be: biomedical research, energy
research, some national labs. You will even be a coauthor if your
contributions are important and substantial. Though admittedly, in some
fields, nth coauthor with n != 1 or N where there are N authors doesn't mean
much.

Edit:

To make it explicit, here are some ideas:

1\. Medical research institutes: Weil Cornell, Salk Institute, Mayo Clinic, U
Texas-MD Anderson, Cleveland Clinic, UCSF, U Pittsburgh Medical Center, Oregon
Health & Science, U Wash Medical Center, U Minn Medical Center, University of
Penn, Harvard/MGH, etc.

2\. Energy-related labs: Argonne, Oakridge, Pacific Northwest, Lawrence
Livermore, Lawrence Berkeley, Los Alamos National Lab.

3\. Other national labs: Defence research labs, Army Research Labs, AFRL,
Office of Naval Research, Woods Hole Oceanographic, Naval Research Applied
Research Labs Austin, TX/Penn State, Georgia Tech Research Institute.

~~~
huevosabio
I would add to the list [http://bids.berkeley.edu/](http://bids.berkeley.edu/)

BIDS actually recruits software engineers, some are working in OSS
exclusively. Since they are in Berkeley, I would drop by and interact with
them, they might have some insights for you.

~~~
lasryaric
I will stop by. Thanks!

------
jcmack
Try working at a research-based agency or research branch of an university.
I've worked at NASA and Georgia Tech Research Institute as a Research
Scientist when I only had my bachelors. Bonus is both place will pay for you
to get a graduate degree if you want one.

------
lambdafunc
You can try working as a software engineer in some research project for a
while, say at an industry research lab, then slowly make a transition to a
research position (which may require a PhD degree).

------
ccarter84
Why are you leaning towards research, what part of energy sector interests
you, and can you afford to take the time off from career for a little bit
while you change tracks?

~~~
lasryaric
I think this is what I would like to do in the long run. I find it very
interesting to focus on problems and try to find solutions.

For example, I had to work on a voice detection algorithm while working at
Wit.ai, and I find it super interesting. I had to explore some research paper
to implement and tweak it. I have no idea how interesting it would be to do
that full time or part time but I think I would love it. More than working on
business product, which I also like.

And what do you mean by "afford to take time off from career" ? Financially
speaking?

------
33a
Graduate school.

------
wcummings
Go to a university, it's what they're for.

~~~
lasryaric
Thank you.

