Do I need a PhD to work in robotics industry
Sharing my ideas on one of the most popular question that people ask regarding working in the robotics field.
Robotics - Is PhD a must have to land a job in robotics
I attended the Grace Hopper celebration 2024 last week. Many people that I talked to asked me this question. Therefore, I decided to share my thoughts here as well. This topic is different from what we discussed a few weeks ago about Industry - How to land a scientist job (robotics). If we extend the job types in robotics beyond just the scientist role, the majority of the workforce does not require a PhD degree. At a high level, like any industry, there are several different types of roles in robotics (I'll use Amazon as an example here and there):
Researcher/Scientist: Part of this type is the scientist role mentioned previously. The majority are PhDs. On the other hand, there are also roles that can be more context-free, like data scientist, which only require bachelor's or master's degrees.
Engineer: Roles such as hardware engineer, software engineer, firmware engineer, systems engineer, etc. Most people in these roles do not have a PhD degree.
Management: Roles such as product/project manager, people manager, executive assistant, etc. Most people in these roles do not have a PhD degree.
Company Operations: Roles such as human resources, marketing, finance, legal, etc. Most people in these roles do not have a PhD degree.
There are many cases where people switch between technical roles. In my time at Amazon so far, I've heard of engineers switching to technical project management, data scientists switching to applied scientist roles, and applied scientists becoming people managers. The switch requires us to develop ourselves and demonstrate our qualifications through our work.
Let's take a look at the process using my friend's “Data Scientist to Applied Scientist” switch as an example. My friend has always been interested in robotics research. He graduated with a master's in data science (and did some research as a student as well). Since joining as a Data Scientist (L5), he has always looked for opportunities to work with senior and principal applied scientists. This proactivity is key if we want to switch roles. After three years, my friend was able to produce enough evidence to make the switch to Senior Applied Scientist (L6).
My main message here is that there are many career pathways in the robotics industry! And it is entirely possible to switch pathways as we discover and grow more about our passions, talents, and abilities.
Industry - PhD degree vs “autonomy at work”
This piece of writing is inspired by a conversation I had with an undergraduate co-op who is asking me for advice about getting a PhD degree in robotics. There is a general impression that PhDs in industry work on research-type problems; they seem to have more say about their approach to a problem and they appear to have more freedom and autonomy at work. This idea is basically correct. In fact, this is what I believe as a student and one of the main reasons that makes me want to get a PhD.
However, since I started working in industry and began listening to more entrepreneurship-related content, I realized there are many ways to gain autonomy at work. Ideally, autonomy is granted based on the employee's ability to handle complex problems and scenarios without supervision. It does not tie to a certain degree. Senior people in industry earned their autonomy at work not because they have certain degrees, but because they demonstrated their ability to utilize the autonomy entrusted to them. Therefore, getting a PhD is not the only way to gain autonomy at work, and gaining autonomy should not be the only reason to motivate a person to get a PhD.
However, the link between a PhD and autonomy is still true. This is because getting a PhD involves a process of training to do independent research. This process equips students to identify a problem and solve it without anyone holding their hands. Therefore, most PhDs do have the ability to work without much supervision, and this is why most companies will almost automatically grant PhD-level new hires more autonomy compared to bachelor's or master's-level new hires.