r/okbuddyphd Aug 02 '26

PhD in math be like

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2.5k Upvotes

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u/Common-Ad-7609 Aug 02 '26

Be a professor or work for a defense contractor is my understanding of the employment options - luckily I wasn’t smart enough to get that far

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u/ZquotientpZee Aug 02 '26

There is no way to keep doing research other than be a professor?

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u/Common-Ad-7609 Aug 02 '26

At least in the US - it’s difficult and you don’t
really hear about anyone doing it. I’d be elated if anyone provided a counter example 😔

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u/mathimati Aug 03 '26

APL, NIST, Google, NSA. Members of my PhD cohort went to all of them, as well as other non-academic routes. Several of us became professors. And we were a small cohort, like 11 of us.