You should consider that your career will likely span about 40 years and thus the field will change and your opportunities will change dramatically over that time. In my case, for exampe, I started out as a specialist in compiler optimization (PhD dissertation), then moved on to operating systems; then into analysis of large, complex data sets; and then into computer architecture; and in the ensuing years spent time in human-computer interfaces, software development practices, cycle time reduction, six sigma and other quality engineering techniques, software project management, general engineering management, and a few others along the way (including speechwriting for corporate executives). Now is the time for you to gain breadth. If you go on for a PhD you will have to specialize in something, but that something may not remain your speciality for the rest of your career. Don’t limit yourself by focusing too soon.
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