1. 1 Industry vs. Academia – Some Thoughts Dr. Joseph Loyall BBN Technologies March 3, 2009 Research Directions in Situational-aware Self-managed Proactive Computing in Wireless Ad hoc Networks

2. 2 Not Just Industry versus Academia Product-oriented Companies Service-oriented (R&D) Companies Non-profit R&D (sometimes Univ. affiliated) Research University Teaching Univ. or College Development Research Teaching Research Industry Academia

3. 3 My Suggestions…  Stay in school… –2/3 of BBN’s staff have advanced degrees –Masters and Ph.D. degrees open doors  Finish your thesis… –I have seen too many ABDs never finish –The skills that enable you to write your thesis and defend it are very valuable in the workplace  The same qualities that will make you a success in academia will make you a success in industry –Creativity, competence, diligence –Design, development, writing –Teaching, teamwork, presentation, learning, individual contribution

4. 4 Differences between Industry and Academia is in Extent not Absolutes  What do you like/want to do?  Publish? –Typically associated with academia –Researchers at BBN publish frequently (for industry) –Publication is part of the consideration for promotion  Develop software? –Typically associated with industry –Yet, many current open-source projects out of universities rival commercial software  Research? –I believe that significant research exists in both academia and industry –There is significant collaboration between the two  Tenure? –Positions like tenure exist in industry also –BBN’s Science Development Program –Boeing Fellows  Teach? –Although not unheard of in industry, much more prevalent in academia

5. 5 Bottom Line Is That Talented, Self-motivated, Creative People Can Be Extremely Successful and Satisfied in Either Environment Industry Academia

6. 6 Boston Globe 100 Best Places to Work 2008 8 th Best Midsize Company 24 th Best Overall 4 th Best for Work-Life Flexibility

7. 7 BBN Technologies