nikeshm · HackerTrans

This might be a little off-topic, but I haven't seen many "Request for Startups, 2021 edition" posted on HN this year. For instance, last year there was a large discussion of Elad Gil's ideas (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21969774&p=2) and a similarly substantial discussion of Daniel Gross's ideas (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22076787). Did I just miss this year's posts? I'd appreciate links to relevant threads/blog posts.

nikeshm

6 anni fadiscuss

Man, this is really hard to stomach as a first generation Indian-American. I'm American, but my parents are distinctly not; the ideas of caste discrimination certainly come up often (we're Brahmin, FWIW, so you might imagine in what context these ideas come up).

One hopeful thought I can add is that I've never once talked to a American-born Indian-American about caste, except to ridicule it as a horrific system of discrimination. There's lots of Indian-born American citizens, which might contribute to the issue; I hope the institution of caste completely vanishes in America as our ethnic group assimilates into broader American society over the next few generations.

nikeshm

6 anni fadiscuss

Would you mind elaborating on your experiences in France and England? I'm curious about the situation there. I was under the impression that there are many effective non-college options in those countries (England's pretty robust apprenticeship system comes to mind), and that university is generally both hard to get into and relatively cheap to complete. I also haven't lived in either France or England, so I speak from a place of little knowledge.

nikeshm

6 anni fadiscuss

Echoing what a lot of other posters are saying, I would strongly recommend considering advisor/group fit. Of course, research field also matters; it seems like you don't really like networking/security that much, so feel free to steer clear of those disciplines. However, let's say you meet an awesome AI prof, and their work is of moderate interest - that seems like a recipe for a good time, even if the field is saturated/there's an AI winter in our future.

Anecdotally, my first research position was the result of getting my last-choice internship for that summer. I thought I would hate it and was planning to quit after the summer. My advisor was incredible, and I ended up working in that lab for 3 years. That field (human-computer interaction) is now my primary discipline!

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