My impression (from the inside of the university) is that academia is simply not a great employment option these days. There's an attitude on the inside that th

My impression (from the inside of the university) is that academia is simply not a great employment option these days. There's an attitude on the inside that those who have academic jobs have won the lottery. No doubt, in a few fields that's still the case, but academic jobs are mostly bad working conditions and low pay combined with limited job security. It was trending in that direction for many years, but the pandemic was a major structural change. You should consider any kind of academic job as a backup rather than a destination.