Academia vs Industry

H. V. Jagadish University of Michigan (previously at AT&T Labs)

Academia
Greater Intellectual Ferment
Energy due to turn over of young students Greater variety of experiences and opportunities

vs

Industry
Critical mass in subfield Greater stability of people and problems

More Collaborators

Academia
Leverage through students

vs

Industry

Typically, youve got to do most of it yourself

But, if lucky, can get much greater leverage through product development

Academia
Funding constrains work and may slow change

vs

Industry

Business imperatives may push you in directions you dont want to go, including possibly non-research time

Academia
Opportunities to make more on the side
But usually not exercised

vs

Industry

Higher salary and bonus

Academia
Sink or swim
First year (or two) extremely hard

vs

Industry

Usually has good mentoring and gradual path to maturity and intellectual leadership.

No clear trend in some things

Exposure to real problems, useful applications, Ambitiousness of objective Quality of work Impact on the world

Moving from one to another

Not too hard in general Gets harder the more senior you are

Transition

Employer concerns in making an offer

Academic Employer Concerns

Employee challenges in new job

Academic Employee Challenges

Industry to Academia

Academia to Industry

Industry Employer Concerns

Industry Employee Challenges

Academic Employer Concerns

Teaching and advising
Adjunct teaching helps Teaching ratings matter

Grant writing, Washington contacts

Do NSF reviews, serve on panels,

Can lead to delayed tenure, for example, or even no hiring at senior level

Industrial Employer Concerns

Team Spirit
Not a prima donna

Willingness to get hands dirty Willingness to appreciate messy real problems where clean abstractions may be difficult

For senior hires managerial ability

Academic Employee Challenges

Students take a long time to become productive
Manage transition period productivity

Industrial Employee Challenges

None!