For many graduate students and postdocs, a tenured position at a reputable university is the most devoutly desired goal. Computer scientist Terran Lane, a former associate professor at the University of New Mexico, however, attained the position so many dream of and then gave it all up, including tenure, to go work for Google. He explains his reasons for walking away from the many advantages of a lifetime academic job in a thoughtful and provocative essay in the Chronicle of Higher Education.
The factors that affected his decision are both personal and professional, and some of them may apply more to computer fields than to other disciplines. But anyone considering an academic career could benefit from his trenchant observations about the disspiriting trends--budget cuts, increased pressure to win grants, lessened autonomy, decreasing interest in exploratory research--that affect academic scientists generally and that, to Lane at least, make working in industry more attractive.
The factors that affected his decision are both personal and professional, and some of them may apply more to computer fields than to other disciplines. But anyone considering an academic career could benefit from his trenchant observations about the disspiriting trends--budget cuts, increased pressure to win grants, lessened autonomy, decreasing interest in exploratory research--that affect academic scientists generally and that, to Lane at least, make working in industry more attractive.
