Unfortunately I think academics fall into the category (trap really) of "passion jobs" that are exploited due to the large amount of people willing to take slav

Unfortunately I think academics fall into the category (trap really) of "passion jobs" that are exploited due to the large amount of people willing to take slave wages to "do what they love". It is why video game developers, aerospace engineers, artists, and the like are all paid significantly less than their peers at more "boring" companies/jobs. They'll do the same day to day work, yet work for longer hours and lower pay fueled by the idea that they'll eventually break through some invisible barrier and reach a point where they're just doing the "fun" stuff all day every day.