AMA highlight: do you miss academia?
No, not much, maybe a little, but not in the way you think!
Last month, we hosted a Careers in Industry AMA. Here are some highlights from our panelists.
A participant wanted to know if the panelists missed academia.
Sometimes I miss the deep dives into theory and the endless exploration, but I love the pace and impact of entrepreneurship. It's like taking the best parts of academia and turning them into something real that can change the world. Plus, in this game, the stakes are a lot higher, and the wins are even more rewarding.
Academia (particularly maths and physics) tends to be driven primarily by interest (either your own or whatever is in vogue at the moment), whereas bringing in revenue is the main goal in the private sector. Ideally, you look for jobs where your interests and money-making skills have a non-empty intersection. I do miss pure mathematics sometimes, but fortunately, coding (my day job) was a side-interest of mine even during academia.
No, I do not miss academia 😆. Maybe something about an abstract "pursuit of knowledge," but honestly, I thought most people weren't really doing that in my field.
Most aspects can be reproduced in my current setting. I work in a pretty IP-heavy domain, so sharing one's results outside of my team is not an option, which is probably one of the things I do miss. I also found out that a lot of the things I thought I missed about academia were, in fact, things that I missed about being a PhD student and living the 'non-grown-up' life (having almost no responsibility and virtually all my friends living within walking distance).
I'll be honest, I miss the grand architecture, gardens, museums, rare music & art festivals. I've found that the compromise of biking around university campuses while avoiding any organizational entanglement with their bureaucracies and hierarchies works best for me!
Glibness aside, though, most of my best research has been done with long-term friends and collaborators who have stayed in academia, and I'm lucky to benefit from their ongoing commitment and the way they do science.
Looking for others to share your career journey with?
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Note: some quotes were lightly edited for clarity.