Went to the lab as usual on Tuesday, where it transpired that one of the Professor's ex-PhD students from way back when had been visiting, and we had one of those full-lab meetings that don't seem to happen quite so often anymore. The Professor went around and introduced everyone to his former student. Of Speedy he said, "He topped my operating systems class, and I asked him to stay back and do a PhD." I wasn't surprised, even as I became filled with a renewed awe at Speedy's talents. I had always suspected that Speedy's antecedents were illustrious, but even I couldn't have imagined the extent. The Professor may well have said, "This is Archangel Michael, come to grace us with his luculence." He went around introducing people in rather a mundane fashion after that, until he got to me and said, "This is [Kaiser]." For some reason he used my full name. "I also asked him to stay back and do a PhD, but he's going off to Amazon."
What? I had been fiddling idly with a cable, but this caused me to stop and look up. He had asked me to stay back and do a PhD? Little ol' me? I had no recollection of anything of the sort. Maybe he thought he had but actually hadn't. Or maybe he was just joking. Maybe he was thinking of someone else. Whatever it was, I could see that people had begun nodding approvingly in my direction at the mention of Amazon - nods that were perhaps the more vigorous for the suggestion that I had been deemed worthy of doing a PhD. Only I knew the truth: that I wasn't cut out to do a PhD for miles. Maybe someday in the future, when incoming freshman have ceased to school me on basic computer science concepts and Amazon has noticed the clerical error that led to their hiring me in the first place (oh god, I hope not) - when I shall have had enough time to hone my skills and become what these good people seemed to think I already was. But not today. Today I was content to leave everyone with the impression that I had turned down the opportunity to do a PhD because I was just that good.
Seriously, though, this event has led me to reconsider applying to the PhD program at GT - a few years hence, if not right now.
2 comments :
I totally see you returning for a PhD. Prof seems to love you at any rate, so that's good.
Let amzn put you through teh shit first, tho. xD
I'm hoping for a character building experience at amzn, if everything else fails.
As for the PhD thing, I imagine that my window of opportunity will be rather small. If I went longer than - say - a couple of years after graduating, I don't think I'd be tempted to return.
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