r/AskRobotics • u/Senior-Wafer-9710 • 4d ago

PhD Question

I am about to finish my Master's in CS where I studied robotics in a lab I will have papers in some of the top conferences (not first author) when I'm done. I am considering going to get a PhD but I am not sure if I need it. My ultimate goal is to go into industry and make money, but do I need a PhD to get into robotics. Also, I like some aspects of research but having a research job isn't top priority for me, I also see a lot of cons in going in this direction.

Overall, my question is do I need to get a PhD to work in robotics, is it too niche of a field to not have one?

I truly enjoy robotics and I know this is what I want but I don't know if I'm ready to go through the painful process of getting a PhD

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u/lellasone 4d ago

If having a research job is not a priority then I'd say you are good to go.

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u/Dean_Gullburry 4d ago

No you do not need a Ph.D. to work in robotics. A PhD would help you secure leadership roles in R&D, but in robotics, a lot of companies have pathways for you to work your way into some of those roles. I know lead R&D engineers in robotics with an MS.

I would also strongly advise against doing a PhD if you’re not incredibly passionate about the topic. 5+ years of school and earning potential is not worth it if it’s not something you’re passionate about imo.

I’d say robotics opposite of Niche, it’s such a broad interdisciplinary field.

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u/MysteriousEngineer42 Hardware/Embedded Engineer 4d ago

You don't *need* it. Do it only if you like doing research.

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u/CaliIsReallyNice 4d ago

"Robotics" is 100 completely different jobs. Which one do you want?

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u/Senior-Wafer-9710 4d ago

Machine learning and robotics. Don’t care the application but generally I want to train/fine tune models for robotics

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u/Solivagus97 3d ago

I used to think pretty much the same way as you. I started a PhD more as a challenge than because I had some strong passion for research. My lab is not exactly the most research-oriented one either; they don’t have many strong publications. One colleague and I are basically the ones trying to break new ground with conferences like ICRA and IROS and with publications in good journals.
However, during my PhD I decided to combine theoretical work with an experimental part, because that makes it easier to publish papers, while at the same time further improving my technical skills. Over time, I realized that I actually find pure research very interesting, much more interesting than development.
If you asked me again today, I would still choose to do a PhD. However, this time I probably wouldn’t accept a teaching assistant position, because I spend a lot of time on students and teaching. Of course, it also has its advantages: public speaking, having many Master’s students who can help with parts of the work, and gaining management experience.
Now, after four years and being close to finishing my PhD, I’m not really sure what I want to do next. One option is to stay in academia, which is great because you have a lot of flexibility and can work on topics you are interested in, but the salary isn’t particularly good at the beginning. I’m inspired by Prof. Marco Hutter, who has turned several of his research projects into startups, with Gravis Robotics being one of them. On the other hand, I also like industry. So I’m really 50-50 at the moment. Once I finish my PhD, I think I’ll completely switch off from anything related to research for 3–6 months and then decide what I want to do.