Voices of CS: The Transition From PhD to Faculty

Many Computer Science PhD graduates go on to careers in academia, bringing together research, teaching, and mentorship in ways that shape the next generation of students. For some alumni, the decision to move directly from graduate study into a faculty role came from discovering that teaching and research were not competing interests, but complementary ones. Through the classroom, they found opportunities to share their enthusiasm for computer science, support student growth, and explore new ideas that continue to inform their research.

Transitioning from PhD student to faculty member also comes with new challenges and responsibilities. Beyond research, faculty members balance teaching, mentoring, advising, and service work while learning how to navigate the open-ended nature of academic life. In reflecting on their experiences, these alumni shared insights into building a career in academia, establishing a research agenda, and finding fulfillment in both teaching and scholarship.

Timothy Randolph
Assistant Professor, Harvey Mudd College
PhD 2024, Theory

I realized during my time at Columbia that for me, teaching and learning with students was as fulfilling as research. Moreover, I found that both practices, teaching and research, energized each other. I’ve been lucky to land somewhere that I can do both.

Being a faculty member is a very unspecialized job: over the course of any given week, I spend time teaching, doing research, mentoring and counseling students, doing committee and service work, and designing in-class activities and assessments, among other things. There’s a lot of managing and scheduling involved as well. I had a good support system, but learning many new skills on the fly was tough!

I’m fortunate to be at an institution that places a heavy emphasis on teaching, which means that I’m rewarded for investing time and energy into my teaching practice during the academic year. The single most effective tactic for keeping my research agenda moving has been maintaining collaborative relationships with peers at other institutions and meeting regularly, even if progress week to week can be slow.

‘Academia’ is huge! In my limited experience, there are plenty of things in common across the board, but there are also major differences between institutions and professional roles. Keep an open mind and don’t assume that the environment you’ve experienced in your own undergraduate and graduate studies is the only one out there.

Yining Liu
Lecturer in Data Science, Columbia University
PhD 2025, Computational Biology

My primary motivation for pursuing a faculty position directly after my PhD was my passion for teaching and helping others learn more effectively.

As an undergraduate, I was fortunate to be part of a vibrant student-teaching community and had the opportunity to lead discussion sections as early as my sophomore year. I found that experience incredibly rewarding. I especially loved sharing my excitement for the subject and breaking down ideas that initially felt difficult for students. Seeing those ‘aha’ moments made teaching deeply fulfilling for me.

During my PhD, I was also grateful for the opportunity to serve as an instructor for a semester. That experience felt like a preview of academic life. In addition to lecturing, I led a team of TAs and managed the logistics of running a large lecture-based course while continuing my research. It turned out to be the semester I enjoyed the most, and that experience really solidified my decision to pursue a faculty career.

The biggest challenge for me has been adjusting to the role’s open-endedness. As a PhD student, there are often clearer structures and expectations. As a faculty member, much of the work is self-directed, so I’ve had to learn how to set priorities and decide where to invest my time and energy. One important lesson has been learning how to do something well while also recognizing when it is ‘good enough’ to move forward.

That shift has taken some adjustment, but it has also helped me become more intentional about how I approach my work. I’m still shaping a research agenda that aligns with both my research interests and my teaching, and I see this as an evolving, long-term process.

My PhD research was in computational biology, but since starting my faculty position, I’ve found myself increasingly drawn to problems closely connected to the subjects I teach and to teaching itself. Over time, I’ve started to see teaching and research not as competing demands, but as mutually reinforcing. Preparing lectures and responding to students’ questions often reveals important gaps in understanding, which can become the starting point for new research directions. So rather than trying to separate those parts of my work, I’ve been thinking carefully about how they can inform and strengthen one another.
If I had to give one piece of advice, it would be to talk to people and seek out mentors so you can get a realistic sense of what academic life actually looks like.

I personally love teaching, as well as the flexibility and independence that come with academic work, but I also recognize that this path is not for everyone. Having candid conversations with people in different types of academic roles can help you understand whether the career aligns with your priorities, strengths, and values. The more clearly you understand both the rewards and the challenges of the job, the better positioned you’ll be to decide whether it is the right path for you.