So as not to bury the lede: I am leaving academia, likely for good. This will not be a big surprise to those who have been following closely (maybe an empty set of readers), but may be a shock to some, given how long I have worked in that sector.

From around the end of high school, my career goal, to the extent that I had a well-formed one, was to be a university professor. I didn’t understand the job titles then, but I was thinking of some kind of permanent position where I was paid to do research while contributing via teaching. The title “Professor” in the New Zealand system is roughly equivalent to “Distinguished Professor”, and relatively rarely achieved. In the US system, tenured full professor is basically what I was thinking of, which in New Zealand is often called Associate Professor. I never got to that level, though I am pretty sure I would have by now if I had stayed in NZ.

I did achieve essentially what I had expected, except for the recognition via academic rank. On the positive side, I have met some extraordinarily impressive world-renowned people, traveled to some interesting places, taught some students who made it very enjoyable, and had satisfying and productive relationships with coauthors and colleagues. Overall I believe I made an adequate contribution. Receiving an unexpected email of praise from Donald Knuth this year was a major career highlight.

On the negative side, I had severely underestimated how little funding overall there is in academia in the areas in which I had research interests, how much luck there seems to be in choice of research area and advisor, how much negative feedback and how little positive feedback is received, how solitary the work can be, how single-minded one has to be about career, how hard it is to find a job in a given geographic area, and how much bureaucracy there is. I really did not understand how hard it is to move universities as a “senior” candidate, and how hard it might be to get a tenured position after relinquishing one to move to the US. I met way more people than I had expected who were simply, to be blunt, lacking in intelligence, wit, drive, courage, human warmth, and basic social skills. How much of this is unique to academia is unclear, but the lack of courage and independence I noticed was quite stunning. In my view, being an academic is a calling that talented people might choose, not a default option for those unwilling to confront the real world.

For the last few years I have been restless and ready to move on to another challenge, where I feel I can make a real-world impact and have a clearer path to career advancement. But only in the last year have I focused seriously on this transition. I developed a nonacademic resume, took actuarial exams, and did (for me) a lot of networking.

I can now announce that I will be making the career switch, to the insurance industry. You can find me on LinkedIn. This is a clean break from academia. I am resisting the temptation (and it is very hard to do so) to settle old scores and deliver the home truths that I believe many people need to hear. I will trust in karma and try to move on, with charity toward all and malice toward none.

I hereby thank all the people, some of whom have also recently left academic positions, who generously gave their time for informational interviews when I messaged them via LinkedIn, and showed their support when I needed it. And also the many fellow academics who really did help – I will contact you individually. I intend to do my utmost to ensure that your efforts will lead to a really excellent outcome. I can’t wait to get started.