- #1
Robert Sacamano
- 1
- 0
Hello,
I am close to finishing my undergraduate degree in Computer Engineering, and I am very interested in pursuing graduate studies. For a long time, I have been passionate about computer science and I've been looking into the research done in various labs in the schools that I'm considering. The labs that study quantum computation - specifically with a focus on quantum algorithms, quantum cryptography, or quantum information in general - are the ones that always catch my attention. I genuinely enjoy reading the past students' theses, and I find the field to be fascinating. In fact, in my first year of engineering school I chose to research quantum cryptography for a big research paper assignment. I'm even slowly going through Nielsen and Chuang's "Quantum Computation and Quantum Information" book, which has been quite a thrill.
However, I have some serious doubts about this field, unfortunately. I am worried that pursuing studies in the field of quantum computation will restrict my future employment to mainly academia, and that's not something that I see myself doing in the long term. What I'm interested in knowing is - say I study quantum algorithms at the graduate level, will this indicate to future employers that I'm an expert in quantum computation, or will it indicate that I am an expert in computer science? In other words, will a graduate degree in quantum information have any merit when applying for a job in industry (like where algorithm design is required, for example), or will it only be useful if I want to get a job doing research at a university in the field of quantum computation in particular?
I am close to finishing my undergraduate degree in Computer Engineering, and I am very interested in pursuing graduate studies. For a long time, I have been passionate about computer science and I've been looking into the research done in various labs in the schools that I'm considering. The labs that study quantum computation - specifically with a focus on quantum algorithms, quantum cryptography, or quantum information in general - are the ones that always catch my attention. I genuinely enjoy reading the past students' theses, and I find the field to be fascinating. In fact, in my first year of engineering school I chose to research quantum cryptography for a big research paper assignment. I'm even slowly going through Nielsen and Chuang's "Quantum Computation and Quantum Information" book, which has been quite a thrill.
However, I have some serious doubts about this field, unfortunately. I am worried that pursuing studies in the field of quantum computation will restrict my future employment to mainly academia, and that's not something that I see myself doing in the long term. What I'm interested in knowing is - say I study quantum algorithms at the graduate level, will this indicate to future employers that I'm an expert in quantum computation, or will it indicate that I am an expert in computer science? In other words, will a graduate degree in quantum information have any merit when applying for a job in industry (like where algorithm design is required, for example), or will it only be useful if I want to get a job doing research at a university in the field of quantum computation in particular?