Ask HN: What tech companies are most like grad school?

Posted by jnbiche on Monday January 19, 2015 @09:02PM
from the ask-hn dept.

Very subjective, but at which companies is work closest to a grad school experience?

Things like some or all of the following (and perhaps other characteristics I'm neglecting):

* have the "feel" of a college campus

* deal with math- and CS-heavy projects

* promote continuing education

* collaborate with academia

( 10 comments | 8 points | on HN )

Re:Ask HN: What tech companies are most like grad school? by GFK_of_xmaspast on Tuesday January 20, 2015 @12:55AM (#8915639)

The thing about being a graduate student is they work you like a dog and pay you peanuts, it's not a kind of environment I have any desire to go back to.

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Re:Ask HN: What tech companies are most like grad school? by indubitably on Tuesday January 20, 2015 @12:27PM (#8918037)

I'd rather know which company is _least_ like grad school, because this.

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Re:Ask HN: What tech companies are most like grad school? by temporary_art on Monday January 19, 2015 @09:51PM (#8915225)

I've heard great things about Two Sigma, they sell themselves as having a very academic environment (lots of PhDs, tech talks, etc.).

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Re:Ask HN: What tech companies are most like grad school? by RhysU on Monday January 19, 2015 @10:35PM (#8915348)

I started there a few months back having just finished graduate school. I wouldn't call it 1:1 with graduate school. I like it far better, and I enjoyed graduate school.

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Re:Ask HN: What tech companies are most like grad school? by jnbiche on Tuesday January 20, 2015 @01:34PM (#8918548)

Can you share what interviews are like for positions like data analysis or data visualization? Algorithm heavy? Will studying for a Google-style interview leave me adequately prepped?

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Re:Ask HN: What tech companies are most like grad school? by jnbiche on Monday January 19, 2015 @10:42PM (#8915376)

Wow, thanks for that. I had not heard of them. They even have positions advertised in my area of expertise (which is not even directly related to finance).

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Re:Ask HN: What tech companies are most like grad school? by gamechangr on Monday January 19, 2015 @09:05PM (#8915104)

Obviously...Google. You should think about including (not Google) in your title.

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Re:Ask HN: What tech companies are most like grad school? by fsk on Monday January 19, 2015 @09:13PM (#8915129)

As a recent grad working at Google, it's probably a lot like being a janitor at NASA. Some really cool stuff is going on there, but you're still just a janitor.

Google has a couple interesting projects, but most people are doing the grunt work associated with keeping a large corporation running.

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Re:Ask HN: What tech companies are most like grad school? by emptytheory on Monday January 19, 2015 @09:07PM (#8915108)

I'd imagine the experience, even within the company, would depend on the position.

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Re:Ask HN: What tech companies are most like grad school? by jnbiche on Monday January 19, 2015 @10:14PM (#8915291)

Yes, I thought Google was an obvious one but didn't want to bias the question.

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