I did it in a program called "Learning Sciences," which is a mix of computer science, cognitive science, and design, all for educational purposes. I studied at Northwestern University, just outside of Chicago.
Could you say a few words about your post-PhD career? I see from your profile that you are an independent consultant. How easy/difficult was it to get gigs? Did the PhD help/hurt in your opinion?
Also, curious if you have worked as a regular software engineering employee? It is kind of difficult to be in your mid to late 30s as a fresh software engineer when many people your age have more years writing production code and being a team lead/manager. Curious if/how you dealt with that?
Well, I've been a consultant for 20 years. That started before the PhD, and has continued since then. And while my advisor didn't know about it at the time, I was also doing some consulting work during the PhD, so that my family (wife + 3 kids) could afford rent, food, and health insurance.
My ability to get gigs was always pretty good -- but it really skyrocketed about 2 years ago. That's when I decided to explicitly pursue training in a few technologies (Python, Git, PostgreSQL, and Ruby) rather than "doing whatever they want, using whatever technology they want." That specialization, and my focus on training, has done wonders to my career; I'm earning more, having more fun, and doing more interesting work (I think) than when I was looking all over for development jobs.
I still get to do software development, but now I do it for things I want, or when researching new topics for myself. I have a few SaaS ideas that I've been thinking about, but haven't had time, between writing books and doing courses.
It's hard to say whether the PhD has helped me much. On the one hand, I put it on my ebook covers, since I figure it'll impress some people enough to buy the book. And to be honest, I have used (and continue to use) many of the techniques I learned in the LS program in my lectures, which I do think help to make me a more effective trainer. However, I think that people hire me not because of the PhD, but because I have built up a reputation -- and once you do a few successful courses for a company, they're very likely to hire you back.
I did work as a regular employee for a bunch of years: I worked at HP's medical products group (spun off as Agilent, and then sold to Philips, both after I was there), and then for Time Warner. When I moved to Israel in 1995, I figured that this was a good chance to try my hand at consulting -- and I haven't had any regrets since.
It's a sad, but true, state of affairs in the computer industry, in that people in their mid-30s who are qualified and bright have a hard time getting jobs. I'm fortunate in that I haven't had to deal with that. (And I'm now 45, so I'm definitely over the hill in terms of getting development jobs.) Consulting has provided me with something of a cushion there.
I know age discrimination must happen (even in software), because people report it, but I'm about 50 and maybe I'm fortunate but I and many old ex-microsoft friends haven't had trouble getting jobs here. I get pinged multiple times a week to interview. If you are a dev in Seattle, can really code, and can pass those famous 1 hour design & code interviews in c++ or java, there are endless jobs in Seattle (hint: always try a hash table :-)).
I get that you can't just move to seattle or some big city with tech or wherever for a job, you might have a family, a life (it's fairly expensive here), but if you can't find a job as a dev, you are probably living in the wrong place.
You have to practice before interviewing. If you don't know c++ or java or js, practice on your own until you proficient. Just get out there and try. I feel so sad when i read one of the endless stories about someone who got laid off by a stupid evil company (like the recent disney people) and training your replacement, that would be unbearable. I have been fortunate to find companies that honestly did have thousands of job openings, and did hire tons of us citizens but also we hired thousands of people outside of the us of a too.
