Which would be a better career Electrical or computer engineer?

Which is a better career starting point for a graduating PhD student in computer graphics? A research lab or a Google SW engineer?

• For top industry research labs like Adobe Research and Autodesk Research, the advantage is you get chance to publish more in the field of computer graphics. However, I do not want to stay in the research area for my entire life but want to found a start-up sometime in the future. Does it make more sense to join Google, etc. to know more about Internet business?

• Answer:

  If you don't want to be in research, then don't go to a research lab. If you want to be an entrepreneur, then don't go to Google. Google will not teach you about the internet business. Google will teach you how to be an engineer at Google, not an entrepreneur. It will also acclimate you to a level of compensation that will make it hard to leave to found your startup. [Note: These are only negatives if you truly want to be an entrepreneur. If life as an engineer is desirable career option for you, Google is one of the places to work.] If you want to found a start-up sometime in the future, either found a startup now or find a startup at which to work so that you can start learning the ropes.