Comment by gaze
1 year ago
No, but you also shouldn't romanticize Bell Labs _too_ much. It was not exactly a fun place to work. You got a 2 year postdoc and then you were out, and those two years were absolutely brutal. Its existence was effectively an accounting fluke. Nothing like it really exists now because it would largely be seen as an inefficiency. Blame Jack Welch, McKinsey, KKR, HBS or whoever you like.
I was a postdoc there and I would not say it was brutal. I got a very good salary (far above an academic postdoc), health benefits, relocation, the ok to spend $1000/day on equipment with no managerial review[0], and access to anyone and everyone to whom I felt like speaking. I read horror stories in Science and other journals about people's experiences elsewhere and am grateful that I was spared so much nonsense. It was the greatest university I have ever set foot in. I still feel unworthy of the place.
[0]This was in the early '90s when $1000 went a long way.
> It was not exactly a fun place to work.
I couldn't disagree more, but perhaps the time I was there (late 90s) was different.
Just curious, are you speaking from personal experience?