I left the software industry to go to grad school. I just finished a three-year postdoc. The pay was a little more generous, but in the same ballpark. IMHO, it

I left the software industry to go to grad school. I just finished a three-year postdoc. The pay was a little more generous, but in the same ballpark. IMHO, it was the best gig in the world. I got to be at a fabulous university (Stanford) and was actively mentored by the world's leading experts in my subject area. I had a total of 120 teaching hours in the classroom over three years; no committee work; my only other duties were scholarship and research. It was like going to school, with the best teachers in the world, and with plenty of personal attention. Oh, and they paid me.