The skill here is to find some ways to chunk the final output into smaller sizes. That usually means compromises and sometimes publishing some stuff that you wa

The skill here is to find some ways to chunk the final output into smaller sizes. That usually means compromises and sometimes publishing some stuff that you want to reference later in lower level (or only tangentially related) conferences just to get it citable for later work. It's usually not fun and sometimes a huge compromise so I fully understand (and applaud) that you didn't go that route. If you're still interested in picking up an academic career I noticed you spent some time in Europe (if the link under this post is your puplication). I'm not sure about the Dutch system but in Germany there are universities of applied sciences. Requirement for tenure as a professor is usually PhD+3 years work experience in the field outside academia. It's very teaching focused and you have to slowly ease into research again because you'll start doing it as a one person show but it's a decent option for an academically inclined person with a PhD to "come back" into the system from odd/unfitting career paths. Not sure if this construct exists in other countries but my guess would be the anser is yes. These days there's also plenty of positions that are international programs so language might not be an issue.