NeurIPS'24: Anxiety and Shifts in the AI Job Market
At NeurIPS'24, many graduating PhD students and postdocs expressed anxiety and frustration about the AI job market. This stems from the rapid development of deep learning over the past decade, where large tech companies aggressively recruited AI PhDs, offering lucrative salaries and research freedom. However, with the maturation and productization of technologies like large language models, the demand for PhDs has decreased, and universities have started training undergraduates and master's students in relevant skills. This shift has left many PhD students feeling left behind, their research direction out of sync with market demands, and their future career prospects uncertain. The author expresses understanding and apologies, noting that many important research directions in AI remain, beyond large language models.
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