<p>bogibogi – I left academia (as did my husband, who was also tenured) mainly because he got an offer to start a biotech – something he always wanted to do. We also had a child with a disability and were spending a lot of time at appointments with various specialists and driving him to special schools. Before we left, we actually took our sabbaticals on site, two consecutive years, my husband one year and me the next, and drove him to school, which was pretty far away, and waited there for his half day program to finish and then came home (and he was 3 and 4 years old, so sending him on a 90 minute plus bus ride was not something we wanted to do.) So our sabbaticals essentially gave us a break from teaching, but we were still running our research labs on-site, spending the time on the road during the school commute writing papers and grant proposals. The job offer and move gave us a way of re-structuring our living situation, so we left and move cross-country. </p>
<p>In the end, I asked myself, would I rather be teaching my child or college students and I chose my child. I decided at that point that I wanted to stay home and raise the kids. And I am happy to say he is doing great now in high school taking honors classes and very active in after school activities, and I am too in a new career!</p>
<p>As for the lab management stuff, as collegealum314 said above, it is more relevant for people who operate labs. And I agree, it should not hold him (or you!) back! It is just something good to maybe be aware of before getting into it, because it does not ever get explicitly taught. You just have to absorb it. Absolutely, do not operate from a position of fear. In the end, this one is not really your call. I think if there is a will there is a way. It is all in the attitude. If he wants to do it, he can!</p>
<p><strong>raises hand</strong> another kid who discovered math at 2…</p>
<p>1moremom, your post about your son is very encouraging. My son just turned 18 and I have to admit that he has matured so much in the past 2 years. I do have the confidence that he will figure things out so I will just have to be patient with him.</p>
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<p>Am I showing fear in my posts? It must be true since you are the second person to say so. I thought I was being realistic in my assessment of my kid, but I could see how my honesty could shake his confidence. Thanks for the advice, he deserves to know that I have unwavering confidence in him.</p>
<p>LBowie, the biotech startup sounds exciting. May it bring you many rewards. I am glad to hear that your decision turned out to be so positive for your child. Thank you for sharing your story with me. </p>
<p>Yes, 1moremom, I probably worry too much. I really need to work on that…</p>
<p>@bogibogi, I was a doctoral STEM student w aspirations of a tenured faculty position. But the Siren call of private industry seduced me. My advisor told me that my starting salary in industry was considerably greater than his. After I left grad school, my advisor did not get tenure and bounced around in different universities for many, many years. Looking back, I am relieved I left academia. </p>
<p>Don’t underestimate the difficulty of getting tenure. It is a good thing your son wants to pursue a marketable discipline like math. If academia does not pan out, he will have a lot of good options.</p>
<p>“why would one leave academia when one has achieved tenure?”</p>
<p>My husband left academia even though he was tenured. As part of his ‘service’ requirements he began working in administration, starting up money-generating programs. He discovered he’s a good businessman. He liked building tangible entities. At the university, he disliked the truly nasty politics of academia; he grew tired of professors (smile) and of the constant threat of cutbacks, the gossip, the backstabbing. Tenure began to seem like a sentence, not an achievement of any kind. </p>
<p>He left thirteen years ago. He started his own company which, in part, still deals with universities. He’s much, much happier, and makes a lot more money. Though he also has a lot less time off.</p>
<p>“After I left grad school, my advisor did not get tenure and bounced around in different universities for many, many years.”</p>
<p>This is what I am most afraid of, GMT. I am convinced that my son is meant to be an academic, so if it doesn’t work out it will be really disappointing. But maybe I can convince him to try to get a gig like yours. I can’t think of a better experience than traveling and working all over the world.</p>
<p>“At the university, he disliked the truly nasty politics of academia; he grew tired of professors (smile) and of the constant threat of cutbacks, the gossip, the backstabbing. Tenure began to seem like a sentence, not an achievement of any kind.”</p>
<p>Thank you for your honesty, but this is bit discouraging. Are these things limited to the university environment or are they occupational hazards that can be potentially found in any work environment?</p>
<p>I know it is your job as a parent to worry, but thank your stars your son wants to pursue math instead of medieval gender studies. If Plan A doesn’t work out, he will have an enviable gamut of attractive Plan B opportunities.</p>
<p>My son is taking a break from grad school to pursue Plan B, a research internship in a large company with a strong research department. His g/f is with him now (for the weekend); she is doing a postdoc and still wants academia, but has considered teaching in a private school if it means they can settle down together. Both of these young people have worked with postdocs and see the effort.</p>
<p>The man my son will work for was recruited by this company from academia. He still goes to conferences and presents papers.</p>
<p>I’m not in math; I’m a PhD student in a social science field.</p>
<p>I say he goes for it, mostly because (as others have pointed out) math is a flexible field that has industry options. If he was planning on medieval gender studies, I’d advise against it - but math, yep.</p>
<p>As much as I’ve been through trials in my PhD program - and often questioned my sanity in pursuing this path - there is something really magical about getting paid (peanuts, but still) to study what you love. And depending on what kind of funding your son gets, he can also pursue things to develop his alt-academic options. I have external funding which means I can do what I want without worrying about my advisor much, and so I’ve done various internships and part-time jobs to help develop skills in other areas.</p>