An argument for working in academia is one that was told to me by one of my advisors: “Working in academia let’s you work on the cool stuff!” What she meant by this is that like Dr. Simon said, working in academia can often mean working on projects that are cutting edge, or things that no one has ever seen or even thought about. At that frontier, it is often exciting (especially when discoveries are made) to be fleshing out new concepts that have never been done before. This can be extremely appealing to the type of person who wants to make new discoveries and be the frontrunners of scientific progress.

For industry, one of the biggest things is the compensation that you get for doing research. Of course, compared to academia you get paid far more, and have more money accrued per unit hour. Along with that, the research that is being done is usually more practical, and focused towards a more concrete goal, versus just doing the research because it can be done. This often attracts people who want to solve a certain problem and see the fruits of their labor in a timely manner.

For myself, I would prefer the industry approach, mainly because of the practicality of the research that is being done. Like Dr. Simon said, the research being done in industry will likely be used within the next few years, which is something that appeals to myself greatly.