Academia

Although I do enjoy teaching, I had never really considered pursuing a career in academia. I have always planned on doing research with a private research firm as I am more interested in the direct applications of research than the basic science research that seems to be more prevalent in academia. However, Dr. Dipboye's discussion of the stability and the freedom of academia has made me stop to reconsider the possibility of an academic career. It is the freedom I am most interested in; it worries me to think that I might have to work on projects I have absolutely no interest in. Unfortunately, there are definite pro's and con's to both career paths, with private industry offering better salary, more applied science, and academia offering more security and freedom.