Is it realistic to think that I will be able to get a research job in cs?

[deathbow2134]

Hello,
Is there alot of computer science research jobs out there? I want to be either a professor or a researcher of some kind. I plan to get a PhD.

Is this realistic, or or these types of jobs too hard to get?

[Prabhakar Ragde]

Start heading that way. Both you and the world will change considerably en route. It's hopeless to try to predict either right now.

[jbking]

I don't think there are millions of vacancies around the world for researchers in Computer Science, but there are many places that do research that may be what you want. Don't forget that it isn't like you are committing to only get this type of job or you'll be unemployed for life, right?

I'd second the start going that way as you never know what you're going to get in life. Just as some food for thought, when I was in grade 10 it was 1990 where I had a Commodore 64 computer that had a 300 baud modem and there was no world wide web yet but when I graduated university there was the web and dot-com boom was going strong. Anyone care to guess what'll be big 8 years from now?

[gvc]

Absolutely. Right now, outfits like Microsoft Research, Yahoo Research and Google are hiring all the qualified researchers they can find. Academic positions are cyclical. Right now, there aren't all that many, largely due to the (false) impression among students that there are no jobs in computer science. Computers are ubiquitous, and it is absurd to think that there will be no remaining research problems by the time you graduate with a PhD.

By and large the "PhDs driving a cab" stories are myths. If you have the talent and motivation to get a PhD, you fill find plenty of opportunities, even if they aren't exactly what you expected.