Q&A in Indonesian (plus video 30 min. Lenggoro) >> docs.google.com << Only for go.tuat.ac.jp account
Q1: As a beginning researcher, should I become an expert or a generalist?
WL:
Start broad.
Go deep.
Then broaden again.
This pattern appears repeatedly among “successful” researchers.
Phase 1: Undergraduate / Early Master’s
Be a curious generalist
At this stage, your goal is not to find “your forever field.“
Your goal is to:
- explore different topics
- learn fundamental skills
- discover what genuinely interests you
- develop intellectual curiosity
If you specialize too early, you may become very good at something you don’t actually enjoy.
Phase 2: PhD
Become a deep expert
A PhD is different.
You need to:
- master a specific area
- understand the literature deeply
- produce knowledge that did not previously exist
- become someone others consult about that topic
Depth matters.
Without depth, it is difficult to make a meaningful original contribution.
Phase 3: Postdoc / Young Faculty
Expand again
Many “successful” researchers eventually broaden their horizons.
They begin to:
- connect multiple disciplines
- build collaborations
- create new research niches
This often happens when they start asking larger questions.
Q2. Should I return to Indonesia or stay in Japan for a while?
WL: There is no universally correct answer. Some people return immediately and build an outstanding career in Indonesia. Some stay in Japan for several more years and gain valuable experience before returning. Some eventually build a career that connects both countries.
The future value of each choice is difficult to predict. However, not making a decision is also a decision. At some point, we must choose a direction and move forward.
What matters is not finding the perfect answer. What matters is learning from the path you choose.
I often think about this in terms of the number of future possibilities. If your experiences only give you one possible future, your world becomes smaller. If your experiences create several possible futures, your world becomes richer. In that sense, having more choices makes life more colorful.
Or, borrowing a concept from one of my lectures (TUAT):
Higher entropy means more possible states.
A career can be viewed in a similar way.
Learning a new language, living abroad, working in industry, joining academia, building international networks, or returning home and creating something new all increase the number of future paths available to you.
The goal is not to maximize uncertainty forever.
Eventually, you must commit and act. But before you close a door, make sure you have looked through it.
My advice: Choose a path that helps you continue growing and keeps meaningful possibilities open.
Twenty years later, you may discover that the most valuable outcome of your decision was something you could never have predicted today.
Don’t ask only, “What will I gain from this choice?” Also ask, “What future possibilities will this choice create?”
Q3. What is the biggest difference between working in Japan as a PhD graduate in (1) Industry, (2) Research Institute, and (3) University?
WL: There is no universally “best” career path.
The real question is: What type of problems do you want to spend the next 10-20 years solving?
(1) Industry (Corporate R&D)
Main mission: Create value for customers and the company (including “the workers”).
Research exists because it may eventually become:
- products
- services
- manufacturing processes
- intellectual property
- business opportunities
What is attractive?
- Large resources
- Good equipment
- “Large” teams
- Clear goals
- Research connected to real-world implementation
What is difficult?
- Research direction may change suddenly.
- Business needs often determine priorities.
- Some results cannot be published.
Suitable for people who enjoy
- teamwork
- implementation
- seeing research become reality
- solving practical problems
(2) Research Institutes (RIKEN, AIST, NIMS, etc.)
Main mission: Create new scientific or technological knowledge.
Research institutes often sit between universities and industry.
What is attractive?
- Strong focus on research
- Excellent facilities
- Large collaborative projects
- Opportunities to work with both academia and industry
What is difficult?
- Funding cycles
- Project-based employment
- “Pressure” to produce visible research output
Suitable for people who enjoy
- research itself
- advanced equipment
- interdisciplinary collaborations
- working on larger scientific challenges
(3) University
Main mission: Create knowledge and develop people.
Many students only see: Research
But universities require: Research + Teaching + Student supervision + Administration + Others
What is attractive?
- Intellectual freedom
- Ability to choose research direction
- Opportunity to build a research group
- Long-term impact on students
What is difficult?
- Grant (writing, etc.)
- Teaching responsibilities
- Administration
- Student management
Suitable for people who enjoy
- asking their own questions
- mentoring students
- building communities
- long-term intellectual projects
A personal observation
After supervising students for more than 20 years, I have seen PhD graduates succeed in all three environments (Industries, Research Institutes, Universites (Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia)
What surprised me is that the most “successful” people were not always the smartest students or the students with the highest GPA.
Often they were the students who could:
- keep learning,
- adapt,
- communicate,
- and enter new fields without fear.
Which path provides the most freedom?
Many students assume: University = maximum freedom and Industry = minimum freedom
Reality is more complicated. A young assistant professor with no funding may have less practical freedom than a senior corporate researcher leading a major project.
Freedom often depends less on the institution and more on:
- reputation,
- expertise,
- trust,
- and accumulated achievements.
My advice
Do not ask only:
“Which career is better?”
Also ask:
“Which environment will help me continue growing?”
Twenty years from now, the technologies will change. The industries will change. Even the research fields may change.
The most important thing is to become a person who can continue learning when the future changes.
Future value is difficult to predict. Therefore, preserve future possibilities.
Q4. What do you like most about being a professor?
Short answer: The best part of being a professor is not publishing papers. It is watching people grow (change).
When I was a graduate student, I thought a professor’s job was mainly about research.
- publishing papers,
- obtaining grants,
- building laboratories,
- developing new technologies.
These are certainly important.
However, after supervising students for more than 20 years, I realized that the most rewarding part of the job is something different.
It is seeing students develop into people whom nobody could have predicted years earlier.
A student with average (or low) grades becomes a professor. A student who struggled with research becomes a successful engineer. A student who arrived from another country later becomes a leader in academia or industry.
These outcomes are difficult to predict at the beginning.
That is why I often say:
Our most valuable product is our alumni.
Research papers are important. Patents are important. Awards are important.
But papers eventually stop being cited. Technologies become outdated. Research topics change.
What remains are the people.
Nothing makes me happier than receiving an email ten or twenty years later saying:
“Sensei, I changed fields.”
“Sensei, I became a general manager.”
“Sensei, I started a project/company.”
“Sensei, I am now supervising students myself.”
At those moments, I feel that education has created value far beyond any individual research project.
Another thing I enjoy is that I am still learning. Many people think that professors teach students. Actually, students teach professors as well. Every year, new students arrive with different interests, backgrounds, cultures, and questions. Because of them, I am constantly exposed to new ideas.
In that sense, being a professor is one of the few careers where you can remain a learner for your entire life.
My personal conclusion
The most enjoyable part of being a professor is not becoming an expert. It is helping other people discover what they can become.
Twenty years later, some of those students may achieve things that neither they nor I could have predicted. Watching that happen is probably the greatest privilege of being a professor.
Future value is difficult to predict.
That is true not only for research, but also for people.
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