I was in academia for a while (through a postdoc), then I left. I'd been getting signals (from myself, from others) for a while that suggested that perhaps it wasn't the best choice for me; I ignored them for years. But I'm happier now than I was while in academia, and my current job is a much much better fit for my psyche.
Having said that, I don't think I was an awful match for academia; things didn't work out for me, but they would have worked out for people not too different from me, and I have no idea what your situation is like. So my point isn't to say that, if you're wondering, then you should get out.
What I will say is that academia is very good at putting people in a situation where they can't really imagine doing anything else, where their primary loyalty isn't to themselves, their families, or even their schools, but rather their discipline. I don't think that's healthy. So it's probably a good idea to spend time thinking about what's important to you, what really makes you happy (as opposed to what you wish made you happy), and what you'd do if you were to leave academia. It's hard to figure out that stuff, but it's even harder to move across the country, end up some place where you're unhappy, and try to figure out whether or not to leave academia while, say, in the middle of a high-pressure job search hundreds or thousands of miles away from your support network.
I wouldn't spend time worrying about your advisor's and committee's goodwill right now. Root causes are much more important.
I apologize for the doubtless depressing tone of this comment.
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Posted by david carlton to academicsecret at 10/14/2006 11:59:18 PM
