From newshub.ccs.yorku.ca!ists!helios.physics.utoronto.ca!news-server.ecf!utgpu!cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!spool.mu.edu!umn.edu!src.honeywell.com!saifr00.cfsat.honeywell.com!shanks Tue May 12 15:49:12 EDT 1992
Article 5429 of comp.ai.philosophy:
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>From: shanks@saifr00.cfsat.honeywell.com (Mark Shanks)
Newsgroups: comp.ai.philosophy
Subject: AI, Linguistics, Philosophy, and a Job
Message-ID: <1992May6.151819.4287@saifr00.cfsat.honeywell.com>
Date: 6 May 92 15:18:19 GMT
Article-I.D.: saifr00.1992May6.151819.4287
References: <aog9JB1w164w@netlink.cts.com> <TT6BkB1w164w@cybernet.cse.fau.edu>
Sender: Mark Shanks
Organization: Honeywell Air Transport Systems Division
Lines: 39

In article <TT6BkB1w164w@cybernet.cse.fau.edu> justin.bbs@cybernet.cse.fau.edu writes:
>rjgrace@netlink.cts.com (Jeff Grace) writes:
>
>> 
>>    I was wondering if anyone could help me out with a little advice.
>> I am completing an undergrad degree in philosophy and am wondering how
>> I could best enter the field of AI research. Would a masters in 
>> Linguistics and some courses in computer programming open any doors
>> for me? Thanks in advance.
>> 
>
>And here I thought I was the only one.  
>
>I, too, am a philosophy major, entering my last year at Florida Atlantic 
>University.  Some guidance counseling would come in quite handy.  Anyone 
>with any recommendations should likely post, as there are sure to be 
>others in our situation.
>
I am speaking only from my experience with large corporations (McDonell
Aircraft and Honeywell), and therefore these remarks may not be appropriate
for some smaller (kinder, gentler) employers.

The personnel department has very strict hiring guidelines with little/no
leeway for discretion, and the undergraduate degree is one of the first
things they look at. A degree in philosophy, even with a Masters in
linguistics, won't get you anywhere near AI activities. I understand that
you are interested in AI research (as opposed to practical applications);
this would best be pursued in academia, because the business world isn't
interested. I worked with some AI-related programs at McDonnell, and frankly
I don't think philosophy or linguistics had any application at all to what
we were doing. My recommendation would be to get an undergraduate degree in
CS or EE, a graduate degree in CS/AI, and some courses in linguistics,
philosophy, and human factors or psychology.

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Mark Shanks
Principal Engineer, 777 Displays
Of course, these are my opinions, not my employer's
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