Working for free vs Improving skills for a PhD wanting to go into Industry [closed]

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manpreet Tuteehub forum best answer Best Answer 2 years ago


TL;DR:
 As an under-qualified software engineer in Australia that came from overseas, should I offer to work for free or should I keep working on my skills before applying for a paid job after PhD?

Goal: To get a full time job in Machine Learning / Data Science and graduate from PhD asap.

Background: I've attained my Bachelor's from software engineering, worked as a software engineer for about a year (6 years ago), finished a master's degree in Computer Science (all of them overseas), had about a year of gap before starting my PhD in Australia (now 1.5+ years in). My PhD is also in Computer Science, funded by a scholarship from an Australian university.

My PhD is in a very similar/same field with the job that I would like to get into (Deep Learning / Machine Learning). I live in a small-ish city where I have recently found a startup with 5 employees which I would like to work for (they were hiring for a full time, now the ad for the position has been removed).

I feel quite underqualified for the job, as I lack both experience and knowledge to do so. I am also not a citizen but I do have work permit from my student visa, and my English is great. Options:

  1. Offer to work for free for the startup: Since startups usually lack funds and manpower, I think they would be inclined to accept. I can work for 2 days (20 hours) and work for PhD for 4 days (40 hours) and survive with the money from PhD. Graduate. Then look for a job for after graduation with "1 year of experience in the field" + reference maybe.
  2. Offer to work for free for the first 3 months: This is to "get my foot into the door", gain experience, hopefully do OK. Then I could ask for something like a minimum wage. Showing payslips is great for visa.
  3. Self-educate from online courses: I could spend some money and take some online courses, certifications and build up a portfolio with projects. Graduate from PhD and then apply for a job.
  4. Apply for internships? Could be an option, but it could be tough since I'm entering into my final year of PhD.

Thanks in advance.

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manpreet 2 years ago

There is a weird disconnect in your post. You are nearly finished with a PhD in Machine Learning and you feel you lack knowledge in this field? You must have worked on some (academic) projects and gathered knowledge and experience. Don't sell yourself short.

Online courses are well and good if you want to self-educate, but don't think that will overly impress potential employers. Working for free seems like a bad idea for all involved. And I would deem you overqualified for an internship.

So, I recommend one of two paths:

  • Work part-time (payed!) for that startup (or some other company). This will give you work experience and a payslip. It may also boost your self-confidence. If there is not sufficient demand for your skills in your area, you may find a position that lets you work remotely.
  • Work on a cool pet-project. There are so many things you can do with Deep Learning - just find one project that inspires you and preferably will yield cool pictures or videos. This will wow future employers and will also improve your knowledge and experience.

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