Research in academia is generally approached in the following manner: “I am curious about this subject and I want to delve deeper into it.” Research in academia generally stems from the thrill of discovery and requires a kind of passion that merits the possibility of no grand reward for hard work. Research in industry is approached in this manner: “We need to get this product out by this date, so you guys need to do research for this by this time.” In industry, research is conducted based on the needs of the company. The company will fund the research using a pre-set budget, but its only goal is to benefit the company. With this in mind one can say that research in academia is approached with an explorer’s hat while research in industry is approached with a miner’s pick axe. They each have their own benefits in terms of lifestyle and financial gain; however, which one is better is pretty much up to the type of person in either field.

EDIT: grammar