[peterkelly]

It's not as simple as one being universally "better" than the other. It very much depends on which university/research group you are part of in academia, and which company you work for in industry.

My own grad school experience was pretty good overall, and I had little to complain about. I read the book mentioned in this post fairly early on and it sounded like the experience would be horrific, but mine wasn't. Possibly this was due to cultural differences between the US and Australia, the latter being where I studied. As I went through my degree and got into teaching though, I started to see enough warning signs that staying long term wasn't going to be a good experience, so as soon has I had my PhD I decided that's where I get off the train.

Since then I've worked in industry, and had both good and bad experiences. There are plenty of horror stories about poor managers, toxic company culture, etc. around I'm sure you're aware of. But there are also companies that have a good working culture, place a high priority on quality and technical excellence, and are generally great to work for.

Am I glad I went to grad school? Absolutely. It was a tough but rewarding experience, my current job (in the latter category above) is an opportunity that came about only because of the research work I did in grad school. I'd say the benefit of grad school is it opens up more opportunities for you to choose from, whether you decide to stay in academia afterwards or return to industry. Both can be good or bad depending on the specific institution/company you work for.