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Today this question came to my mind.

Currently I am a Master student enrolled in University. All my previous studies I have passed thinking that I am a fan of Telecommunication/Computer Networks and related topics.

However, recently due to the overload on these topics I feel like I have lost my interest in them. Honestly, I have not lost my interest, but I have come to a point where I feel disgusted. These topics are too technically oriented. There is not much to do with the human factor (in terms of interaction). I am aware that all the studies related to computer science, electrical engineering etc. are closer to the machines rather than the humans. In daily bases the communication with machines is more often than with humans.

I was contemplating the possibility of switching from such an area, and work my thesis on Human Machine Interaction, where the human factor is considered a little bit more.

What is your opinion on this issue. Does the topic that you work on as a master thesis affect your future job if you apply to a position that is not that much related?

What about the academia?

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Does the topic that you work on as a master thesis affect your future job if you apply to a position that is not that much related?

By applying to a position you are not that familiar with, you will compete against people who know more about the job than you do, starting with a disadvantage. However, as AJed said, companies are sometimes looking for potential rather than technical skills and showing other skills during a job interview can prove really useful.

What about the academia?

To answer this question, I will assume that you mean "looking for a PhD position". I think it will be even more difficult to find a PhD position if you change field (please correct me if I am wrong). Indeed the ultimate goal of a PhD program is to make the student an expert in his domain and the commitee might prefer choosing someone with little experience than no experience at all in the topic.

Finally, there are plenty of applied research fields related to Human-Computer Interactions so before you switch topic I advise you to check some of them in-depth.

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Does the topic that you work on as a master thesis affect your future job if you apply to a position that is not that much related?

In my opinion, No. Companies usually want their employee to have specific knowledge before hiring them. (so if your thesis is close to what they work, you may be very interesting to them).

(still if your thesis is not related to what the company does), then you may be interesting to them company. Why? A master thesis gives the company an indication about your skills, including marketing skills, creativity, and theoretical skills. These skills may be useful for the company. (this is just my opinion)

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