I left a PhD program a few years back (technically graduated, but I don't think of it that way). A year or so before I did, I remember very clearly being out to

I left a PhD program a few years back (technically graduated, but I don't think of it that way). A year or so before I did, I remember very clearly being out to drinks with my professor and fellow students, and mentioning that I had no intention to continue a career in academia. In fact at the time I was thinking of translation (I've since drifted to web development, but languages and translation are still central to much of what I do). The response (in Japanese, but I'll translate) was "what a waste" ("mottainai"). What a waste. All that potential I had, and now I was just going to waste it on "work", like everyone else. No doubt my supervisor, who said it with a genuinely disappointed look (echoed with a nod by a fellow student and friend sitting beside me, which only made it worse) meant it in a positive sense, but I never forgave him for it. It stuck with me, somewhere very deep inside me, first as something confusing and distressing, then as a kind of symbol, something emblematic of everything that is wrong with academia. To anyone who is hesitating: if your only reason for staying in academia is the fear of what will happen if you leave, then it is time to leave.