[dgmdoug]

Isn't part of the problem that we place this artificial wall between academia and industry? I often found myself confused in this respect. I attained my PhD a number of years ago, and found this an invaluable experience, which has no doubt helped me to excel in industry, however I still meet people (developers and senior level executives especially) who think academia is about locking yourself in a room and writing stuff without building anything useful. Ironically, these are the same people who build products and code without surveying the field, understanding what is already out there and building on top of existing solutions. Their naivity and ignorance is such that they believe they are building something truly unique, and will get it right first time, every time.

It seems to me that we should stop standing on each side of the fence and looking down on each other, and start working together. We might actually achieve something great it if we do that.

Regards the OP, if it was the right time for him/her to leave, that's great. Nobody should continue on a path that they do not find fulfilling. It says nothing about academia, or industry though. It only reveals the feelings of the author.

The true travesty here, is that he/she will find it extremely difficult to pick up that work again and find a place in a university if they change their mind in the future. Our system in the UK is broken, since you only get a single shot at academia -- unless of course you are independently wealthy.

Perhaps this is the cause of the divide. You are either in, or you are out -- and once you make your choice there is no going back.