Ask HN: How to break into CS research?

[hsikka]

Hey HN, you’ve always been excellent advisors so I wanted to get at your thoughts.

I’m a student completing my master’s in CS from Georgia Tech and my master’s in computational biology from Harvard. I have two 4.0 GPAs, and have been trying to get research opportunities in ML/RL/Theoretical Neuroscience because I’m absolutely fascinated. Unfortunately, I have a non traditional background with no research experience, and most professor’s don’t really give me an opportunity or even respond. I have a lot of product and entrepreneurship experience, and I really got deeper into theory in recent years. Are there ways I can get into research with this background? I’d like to eventually be able to get a PhD or do a residency.

I really appreciate the advice.

[DoritoChef]

I would say, with your background, consider applying to DeepMind[1], or a national research lab. What you'd be looking for would be "entry level" research work. This would allow you to easily stand out in your applicant pool, and make it to the interview, where'd you'd have a better chance to properly explain your non-traditional academic background. If you're a US Citizen, maybe consider applying to positions at the MIT Lincoln Lab, Los Alamos, or Argonne National Lab. A lot of these guys aren't doing that much with ML/RL/AI, but that's okay! If you're serious about research you'll probably want to do a PhD. To get into a good PhD program, you'll need good references.

[1]: https://deepmind.com/careers/

[DoritoChef]

P.S. I specifically underline references and research experience because that's where it appears you'd be weakest at the moment. Getting a 4.0 GPA in your grad school coursework (which is online, I presume) says a lot more about your organizational skills (which must be really good!) than your ability to research. Getting someone with a PhD to write "This person is capable of doing good research and I've seen it with my own two eyes" is probably one of the best things you can get on a recommendation letter to a PhD program, which is far more valuable than "this person did well in my class" (see: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&c...)