#### 00:00 Intro - Today's topic: Why professors, even tenured, leave academia and where do they go? - The goal is to normalize why this happens and provide alternative options. #### 03:00 Expectation and reality mismatch Why do people leave academia? - Reality doesn't match expectations: - Saddled with administrative work - Not enough student interaction - Teaching over Zoom, lack of in-person teaching - Research pressure - Pressure and difficulty getting funding #### 6:00 Unable to obtain suitable academic location - Not located in a city or region that feels fulfilling or safe #### 07:40 Limited negotiation flexibility - In corporate jobs, there's often more flexibility in negotiating for things #### 9:25 Hierarchy and scarcity creates toxicity - Academia is very hierarchical and competitive, with scarce resources - This fuels toxicity - Toxic tenured professors are difficult to hold accountable #### 12:20 Compensation is limited, creating playground for the rich - It's often true that leaving academia can lead to higher salaries / compensation - Universities have limited resources, especially relative to private industry - "Academia is a playground for the rich" - Scarcity of resources + academics who come from money = universities don't pay as much #### 15:30 Lack of pay equity - There's not as accountability for pay equity as opposed to other industries, such as tech #### 17:05 Overloaded courses and ethical mismatches - Many are teaching 5-5 course loads (5 courses in fall, 5 in spring), means professors don't have enough time to get quality interaction with students - Some are seeing how their colleagues are reacting (or not) to the Palestinian genocide, and it's weighing on people. Do they want to work around these kinds of people for years? #### 18:48 Lack of advancement and the two-body problem - Lack of advancement beyond tenure - Only advancement: overhead work, committees, maybe dean. It's just more administrative and stale work. - People get bored, there's no new opportunities and challenges. - "Two-body problem" in academia: couples, typically both in academia, struggle to find roles that allow them to work in the same location. #### 21:30 Jobs after academia - Where do people get jobs outside of academia? Jobs after leaving academia? - Data scientist or UX researcher - Many enter government. With more years of experience, you can enter higher grades. - Government roles: analytical research, policy analyst, communications, HR training and development, experts in specific verticals like immigration, lobbying - Some pursue their own business to maintain their own autonomy - Freelancing, consulting, etc. - Creating a business from their lab research and their intellectual property. - The dream scenario is getting hired straight from academia because people in industry already know you from your work and collaboration.