Leaving Academia Part 2: Things I'll Miss

Last week I posted a blog about why I believe academia is a broken system and how that has led to me leaving academia. It was in no way an attack on any one who wants to work in academia, nor was it an attempt to convince anyone not to pursue a career in academia if they so choose. If there is one thing I have learned in the last 9 years of academic life it is that no argument is ever one sided; there will always be someone who disagrees with you. Especially in science. In last weeks post,I highlighted everything that I think is wrong with academia or at least everything that has brought me to my decision to leave. In contrast, this week will be looking at the positives; because even I will admit there are some positives to academia (even if they are often hard to find). So in the name of balance here are a few things I’ll mis now that I’m leaving academia behind.

Pushing the boundary of knowledge
After working for a year as a lab technician in a University I knew I wanted to stay on and do a PhD. The main reason was my genuine interest in science. It sounds idealistic but science is the force that pulls humanity forward, it allowed us to progress from hunter gathers to a species that set foot on the moon and one day might set foot on Mars. If that isn’t awe-inspiring then I don’t know what is. I wanted to contribute to this kind of progress, although rather than help send a human to the moon I prefer to develop new medicines that could one day help save lives. And while I didn’t exactly achieve that aim during my 4 year PhD I did contribute to my field in a meaningful way - someday what I did might actually help someone. That sense of achievement is what drew me to research; it is a feeling that I experienced any time an experiment worked and, while it might not be unique to academia, it is a feeling I am going to miss.

Science can be cool
Like many scientists I actually find science cool, or at least I do now. Growing up that was not my opinion; like many people I studied science because I had no choice. Up until I was 17 I thought science was tedious. Looking back I now realise that was probably because of what, and how, I was being taught (did anyone else have to learn the physics behind how a photocopier worked or was that just me?) Now I get to use what experts call “cool science stuff” on a daily basis - nanotechnology, bioelectronics and equipment so expensive there are only a handful in the entire world.
Sometimes I struggle to explain to friends and family what I do every day. One piece of equipment is called the atomic force microscope, it’s a microscope that measures the force caused by atoms interacting with one another to produce images of really tiny stuff. I’m literally using “the force” to look at things that no human has ever seen before – if that isn’t some futuristic sh*t then I don’t know what is. This is what I will miss about the day-to-day life in academia; on a regular basis you get to use cutting edge technology and, budget depending, have the freedom to ask and try to answer whatever question you think is important.

A chance to make change happen
As I mentioned in my previous blog my current view of academia is less than optimistic. But that doesn’t mean that positive change isn’t going to happen. Over the last two years, when I wasn’t in the lab, analysing data, writing papers, or having an existential crisis caused by a global pandemic, I was also trying to make changes to help other researchers at my university. Specifically, I was working with other PhD students and early career researchers to create an Early Career Research Society. The hope was that by forming what was essentially a union we could help make sure that senior staff at the university listened to our views. The logic was that as a larger group we would have a louder voice to enact change. Thankfully many other researchers felt the same way and we got the Society up and running and early on had a tremendous amount of support. That was the one good thing about being in a broken system; it gives you an easy aim – make the system a little less broken. It might sound egotistical or self-centred but it feels good knowing that I tried to make a difference. Even if significant change is not going to occur any time soon, academia was a great opportunity to try and make the world a better place.

Moving away from academia is going to be a challenge, but it will come with upsides (reasonable hours and pay being high on that list). At this point in my life the drawbacks of a career in academia sadly outweigh my desire to remain. The reasons I mention above are what drew me in, and make me wish I could stay. When it comes to jobs and careers the only right choice is the one that works for us at the time. If you decide to pursue a career in academia you don’t need to be told it again, but it will be a rocky road one that I am choosing to leave. Don’t be disheartened, my only advice is: be sure it’s what you want.

If you have worked or still work in academia and there is anything else that you enjoy let me know on twitter.