"is as intense as in industry if not more" That wasn't my experience - I've never seen anything like the politics I saw in an academic department in industry.

"is as intense as in industry if not more" That wasn't my experience - I've never seen anything like the politics I saw in an academic department in industry. It was one of the reasons I left as I got the distinct impression that you have to politic like mad to get ahead and that really didn't interest me. UK rather than US though. You know what they say: "Academic politics is the most vicious and bitter form of politics, because the stakes are so low."