I recently came across a Reddit post that caught my attention. The author had just defended their dissertation, but here’s the surprising part: it didn’t include a single proof, no publications, and no conferences. I couldn’t help but wonder, how common is this?
The author felt a mix of emotions – on one hand, they felt like a failure, but on the other hand, they knew it didn’t matter since they wanted to get into industry. However, the irony is that they couldn’t get an industry job without the typical trappings of academic success.
This got me thinking – what’s the point of a dissertation if it doesn’t involve original research or contributions to the field? Is it simply a formality, a checkbox to tick before moving on to the ‘real world’? And what does this say about the state of academia and its relationship with industry?
I’d love to hear from others who have gone through a similar experience or have insights into this phenomenon. Is this a common occurrence, or was the author just an outlier?
In any case, it’s an interesting reflection of the complexities and contradictions in our academic system.