Any good research companies that take new grads? (AI/CV/ML)

Intel
hcdy96

Go to company page Intel

hcdy96
Feb 3, 2019 11 Comments

I'm graduating in May with my bachelors, but I want to apply for a PhD in AI/CV/ML at the end of this year for Fall 2020 admission.

Are there any companies where I could get some type of research role as a new grad? I'm trying to get a lot of research experience before I apply. I've done a few months of research experience from school, and a couple related internships

If not, anyone have any suggestion for how I can get more research experience to prepare for grad school?

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TOP 11 Comments
  • Amazon
    qazwsxedc1

    Go to company page Amazon

    qazwsxedc1
    Microsoft research is the only company that does hardcore ml research . Google research and FAIR too, to a lesser extent . Some teams in Amazon do good ML research . Other places (including Facebook amazon google ) will hire you but you’ll basically be a glorified software developer .

    For research role, you will need a PhD .
    You can’t get a research role without one . Get the experience in grad school then apply to be a research intern or something
    Feb 3, 2019 6
    • New / R&D
      zorkan

      New R&D

      zorkan
      For big companies, it goes
      G, F and openai, M and Amzn -in that order.
      (specifically: Deepmind, FAIR, openai, Brain, MSR, Amzn).
      M and Amzn you have a much better chance at getting in without being a top name in the field (FAIR/Deepmind will expect a lot more). But this also means that there aren't many big players at MSR or Amazon. You might get into Brain, but a lot of their stuff is just engineering work (eg 1 researcher for every 10 engineers).
      Feb 3, 2019
    • Amazon
      JSnowflake

      Go to company page Amazon

      JSnowflake
      Amazon has awesome science teams, but we are all doing applied research. So conf papers at NeurIPS are far fewer but the Conversational AI workshop there is heavily Amazon, for example. If you are a CV or NLP person, Amazon is great. If you are a core DL or RL researcher you will probably be happier at Google.
      Feb 3, 2019
  • If you are a citizen then try for residency programs, 6-month internships. Especially research residency will give you a good exposure to research. However, I am not sure if they take bachelors.
    Feb 3, 2019 1
  • New / R&D
    zorkan

    New R&D

    zorkan
    It's slim chance, but possible. It helps if you have existing publications in relevant venues and (more importantly) a strong rec from a professor/manager who has advised you in past research projects.

    Also, the big guys (f/g/M/Amzn) might try to demote you into engeering roles with consolation titles (eg; ML Eng, Data Eng, Research Eng) - so be very skeptical there. At this stage in your career it is important to flex your creativity and put out some great papers/patents/products. It doesn't really matter what company you do that under (assuming you have freedom and resources), the upside to PhD is you get the mentorship and ability to work on a superset of the topics.

    The worst thing you could do for yourself is get complacent in a role that doesn't align with your career goals. I have watched many friends who participated in ML research during undergrad go one to accept roles writing generic backend code at FANG companies. Don't settle in your job hunt, seek out good mentors/teams/roles, and do grad school if you don't strike gold.
    Feb 3, 2019 0
  • Qualcomm / Eng
    ThRenegade

    Go to company page Qualcomm Eng

    ThRenegade
    Yes for phd new grads, maybe for master, no for bachelor
    Feb 3, 2019 0