> lets you basically do whatever* you want for 42% of the year. Henry Ford once said "A customer can have any color they want, as long as it is black". You ca

> lets you basically do whatever* you want for 42% of the year. Henry Ford once said "A customer can have any color they want, as long as it is black". You can do whatever you want as long as you want to do exactly what you've been told you have to do. You have to do something extremely specialized - publish your work in good outlets (whatever that means, depending on the field). The truth is that you can work on any topic you want, as long as you can publish in the right place. You have to deal with reviewers. You have to follow the norms of the profession. Don't like the way things are done? Tough. You do it the way the reviewers and editors want you to do it. I'm writing this more for anyone that's considering going into academia. It's not at all what you think when you hear people talking about your "freedom". There's a long list of rules you have to follow, not unlike any profession.