Oh, it's more than just partially tongue-in-cheek! I actually find, as you do, that industry is refreshingly direct compared to pure research, which is why I pr

Oh, it's more than just partially tongue-in-cheek! I actually find, as you do, that industry is refreshingly direct compared to pure research, which is why I prefer it. I used to work at Agilent, a.k.a. "the good parts of the former Hewlett-Packard." And, with the usual handful of exceptions, it really was the largest collection of nice folks that you'll ever meet. So, yeah, I believe in the existence of good businesses. What I refer to is the emotional learning curve coming out of school. The part where you learn, among other things, that not everybody is trustworthy, and that not every market-leading product is worth what it costs. That the ugly method that is currently shipping is often better than the elegant but theoretical alternative. That some of your company's products are, inevitably, better than others. That any group of more than five people will face political problems, misunderstandings, and red tape. And that without those folks doing the marketing and accounting your business won't function. None of which actually means that industry is a big con. It's just real. It's not made of imaginary people living in an imaginary land. Academia is the same, actually, though when you're in an especially bitter mood -- or faced with the occasional person who really is a con artist -- you might think otherwise.