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I am 28 and will be finishing my PhD in the next 2 months. My PhD has been in the field of medical image analysis so it has covered quite a bit of image processing mixed in with machine learning.

My plan isn't to have an academic career. I see my short-term future as a research scientist/engineer and my ideal career route would be moving into the tech industry (hopefully focused on healthcare) and progressing there.

I have been offered a post-doc focused on deep-learning with a side-element of software engineering in Python/C++. Its in the same lab but with a different group, which is also very reputable both in academia and industry.

I have read that as soon as you know you want to go to industry, every month not working in industry is a waste; both in terms of experience and potential life-time earnings.

My question is: would a 2-year post-doc be detrimental for my future career?

The post-doc seems to tick many boxes that many companies list as job requirements for positions I'm really interested in but do not think I fit right now. The post-doc would involve:

  • Development of deep-learning algorithms with applications to image synthesis and segmentation
  • Software engineering in Python/C++ to deploy software at collaborators research centers
  • Part of the development team for a deep-learning open-source package
  • Mentoring 2 PhD students

Second question: does it make sense to take a post-doc that would build desirable skills/knowledge for jobs I am interested in? Rather than just applying for industry positions now and taking the best one I can get.

Thank you!

user2037067
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    Possible duplicate: http://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/20846/will-taking-a-post-doc-position-harm-my-future-chances-in-industry?rq=1 – PsySp Mar 14 '17 at 19:42
  • Since you are explicitely not looking for a job in academia, Academia SE might be the wrong place to ask. – FuzzyLeapfrog Mar 14 '17 at 19:52
  • The beauty of this post-doc job offer is that you can be looking for that industry job you have in mind, while gainfully employed. However, if you are not interested in the project(s) in the postdoc, it's probably best not to take the job. – aparente001 Mar 14 '17 at 20:39
  • It seems to me that getting a PostDoc post when what you only have in mind is how to secure an industry job, is not a really good idea, especially if you think you do not fit very well. – PsySp Mar 14 '17 at 23:02
  • @FuzzyLeapfrog OP is in academia now, and is deciding whether or not to accept an academic job offer, even though the ultimate goal is industry. This seems like an appropriate SE to ask this question, IMHO. – Darren Ong Mar 15 '17 at 03:04
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    Possible duplicate of Will taking a post-doc position harm my future chances in industry? – Wrzlprmft Mar 15 '17 at 08:16

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