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I don't think it's an unreasonable possibility, actually. What I'm describing is an R&D like environment. There's no reason autonomy has to come with the extrem
by michaelochurch 14y ago
I don't think it's an unreasonable possibility, actually. What I'm describing is an R&D like environment. There's no reason autonomy has to come with the extreme and mostly random income volatility of the VC-istan ecosystem.
It's not that I want zero income variance. How many people would want to live in that world? I don't. It's that I'd be willing to give up the upside over $50 million in exchange to never have to worry about being unable to support a family.
There has to be a way to structure that kind of insurance plan without requiring a compromise of autonomy.
- hazov 14y agoAcademia is like that if you choose your field of research well.
- michaelochurch 14y agoAcademia is not like that. You don't have much immediate job risk, because jobs have defined lengths of time (2-year postdocs, 6-year tenure race, indefinite tenure) but the career risk is intolerable. Academia has a terrible job market; it has sold out a generation and a half and I don't see it being able to unwind that. Academia has almost no financial upside but a lot of downside.
- rgbrgb 14y agoI've had a lot of CS professors that consult in industry for huge payouts (particularly in more applied fields like biometrics and graphics) and I know there are applied math people doing the same. It looks incredibly hard to get a tenured academic job, but I think once you're there in an applied field, your title can be very lucrative.
- trhtrsh 14y agoThat's the same as saying post-IPO/acquisition founders are well-positioned for future life. It's not an answer the question of "is it worth taking the risk of putting in a decade of effort?"