If I had to choose between Academia or Industry I'd choose Industry. For one, as much as I love research and as curious as I am, I feel like the wait when researching in academia is just far too long and quite a gamble to be worth my time. In Industry I feel like I can satisfy my curiosity more so because results come into fruition far quicker. Viewing that expeditious effect on society and seeing the smiles on a person's face because of something I worked on makes me feel successful and makes me feel like the research was worth it far more than something like a noble peace prize. I've gotten several honor rolls, president's awards, trophies, etc. growing up, all as motivations to become a professional and use those talents of mine to make my impact on society not so that I can continue to garner rewards that're essentially a pat on the back for trying/discovering something new. Not to take anything away from it, those are still very hefty accomplishments and obviously not given out to just anyone. Quite frankly without them, we wouldn't be where we are today and couldn't keep progressing. But the truth of the matter is making money is essential to living a sustainable life and the same satisfaction that those get in academia, I will get in the industry in my opinion far quicker.

I have already begun life in the industry. As a Life Care Solutions (LCS) field engineer what gets me going in the morning is knowing that when I go to the hospital I will be fixing a medical device that will help diagnose someone of an illness or install new equipment that is literally life-saving. These are pleasures I do not believe would be found in academia for me.

I currently work in industry now and I can tell you that I am very happy with my choice. As someone who has always enjoyed starting a project and seeing it all the way through until the final product, it was a very easy choice for me. It is hard for someone like me to do work and not be able to actually see a result or design that came from my hard work. At the same time, I can also understand that being in the medical industry means that most of us want to help as many people as possible. Sometimes in industry it doesn't seem like that and everything is about time and money. In academia, while your work may not produce anything tangible now, the fact is you are putting in the work to try and help people with little benefit to yourself. While I find that admirable, it was still not enough to make me consider working in the academia field. Especially right out of school, with large expenses such as a house and wedding on the horizon, it would make it almost impossible for me to take a job in academia over industry.

       This topic changes constantly due to the conditions offered, the working environment, the money earned and completely differs from person to person. I am currently a Ph.D. student and I can understand the academy and the studies much better after I started my Ph.D. While comfortable working conditions and flexible deadlines in the academy make the academy more attractive, job opportunities and high salaries in the industry are two of the industry's biggest advantages. Although the conditions and demands are completely up to the people, if I have to make a choice, it makes more sense to switch to the industry after a certain period of time in academia. It is a fact that the world of academia has very serious advantages, but when sufficient funds cannot be found for the project, the project completely fails. At the same time, there is great competition in the academy world. For all these reasons, the industrial world seems attractive to me.

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Because of my experience working in academia from an undergraduate/graduate research perspective, I would much rather work in industry. While I have an inquisitive mind and love the process, it can become exhausting to a certain extent because there is no set time frame even if you try to make one. I also saw that compared to the other people in my group, I was not as passionate as I thought I was or needed to be in order to make working in academia worthwhile. In industry, everything is seemingly sort of laid out and has a start and end time. This kind of gives the best of both worlds by allowing me to research while also having a timeline and a chance to see the final product.

If I had to select right now, I would choose to go into Industry. Their respective approaches to research didn’t influence my decision that much. Although I am interested in discovery and being a part of a bigger project that I have developed a passion and curiosity for, I would much rather be in the industry environment where I can see a more “immediate” result or application of the research I partake in. Also, I definitely prefer a faster-paced environment where there are deadlines and projects are a lot more structured. The idea of being in academia where I may not ever get to see the results of my work does not really appeal to me much because I am a very goal-oriented person and in terms of career, my first goal will always be to make an impact on and improve the lives of others. If I don’t think the goal will ever be met in my lifetime, I do not think I will be as passionate about it or willing to work as hard for it. I am more passionate about a specific outcome than a specific topic/project and I think that is the main thing that makes me decide on industry. I would rather do multiple things that work towards a specific outcome (company mission for example) than focus on one topic or project for what could possibly be my entire life. I think I would be more fulfilled overall in the industry setting. 

I would choose industry every day of the week and twice on Monday! An academic setting does not entice me, I have no desire to teach and the pay compensation for the work that is done is laughable. Industry has its own set of challenges being that it is fast-paced, has strict deadlines and usually has budget constraints. I look at these as opportunities, I am one that needs to be constantly challenged and engaged or I will lose focus. It really boils down to what you have a passion for and what your career goals are. If you have a passion for teaching, academia is the obvious choice. If you want learn and be challenged, I think industry makes more sense. 

Initially I thought I wanted to go into Academia, but recently I would rather go into Industry. I feel as though academia is a great place to be and explore your options with the help of your school, the pace of things is just a bit too slow for me. Where in Industry I would like to work is something I haven't decided on yet, but I would love to work in anything research related.

Personally, I have had experience in both academia and industry settings. I have thoroughly enjoyed conducting cancer cell research within my alma mater and was even able to co-author its current publication in a scientific journal. Being able to work independently on topics I loved learning about was also a huge advantage. However, I prefer to work in an industry setting for many reasons. The main reason is higher pay. As a recent graduate, I strived to find jobs and opportunities that not only aligned with my skills and interests but were also proven worthy of my credentials. As a research scientist, I am able to expound upon my skills in the workplace and endure even more opportunities for growth in my career. Working in teams is also an aspect of the industry that I enjoy. Although independent research can be beneficial when the ultimate goal is to receive credit for your hard work, teamwork helps studies become more credible and allows you the opportunity to network with workers who possess similar interests (Which is a huge long-term social advantage). I think an interesting question to think about relative to this topic would be how difficult is it to transition from academia to industry and vice versa?

At this stage in my career, if I had to choose between industry and academia, I would choose industry. Researchers in the industry is working toward a bigger, common objective. Collaboration and teamwork skills are essential for researchers. In the corporate world, projects are frequently more deadline-driven and involve teamwork to solve business-related issues and that is what I find most fascinating. This work will have an immediate effect on practical applications. A perk of working in the sector is that larger organizations will provide money and more cutting-edge resources. But unlike academia, it was entirely devoted to research. Furthermore, corporate scientists often earn more money than academic researchers on average.

Being able to serve in both arenas, I would say that it is best for me to go stay in industry based research. Yes there are constraints in project direction from the industry side but the financial constraints in academia were maddening. Your financial stability is tied to someone's ability to write a promising paper for grant money. Accepting someone's grant money means, at times, having some else dictate your findings. In industry you have a louder voice with the higher ups, your avenues of explaining your plan are more clearly defined. Yes they control how far your project will but if your delivery is correct, you'll more than likely be given everything you need to succeed. 

As of right now, my choice would be academia. I enjoy the time off and the pace of the work and the institution I am currently employed by. I know everyone else chose industry over academia, but after being in a fast-paced career in another industry (military) I need a break. The academic environment may not be the best salary at the moment but I know where I'm at is temporary and there is room to grow into different positions within the company. Approaches to research are the same except that industry has more resources aka money to funnel into their projects, whereas academic has to apply for grants and wait for approval. Compared to responses I've heard from many people, industry can be a little brutal and time-consuming and at the moment I don't want that kind of lifestyle which entails project after project. I have yet to work in industry and much of my experience has been in academia, but I'm sure in the future I may switch to see how the industry environment and job appeals to my liking. Based on everyone's response, industry seems to be the go-to. However, my experiences and past employers have really changed my perspective about academia and their approaches to developing medicines, treatments, and conducting experiments.

As someone who has seen both sides, I can say that both have many advantages and disadvantages. I think one of the best part of the academy is that you can set your own working hours. you can be more free about it. but on the industry side, things are not comfortable that way. There is a certain working environment and everyone is in communication. which keeps you tied to working at those hours. Apart from determining the working hours, you are always busy at the academy. Even when you go home, you can't stop thinking about what you will do next. In the industry, you can spend a comfortable time after the end of the working day until the start of the next day.

If I have to choose one, I will choose R&D of industry as it's more appealing to me. I would rather choose industries where I can work with in vitro models specially organ on chip, microfabrication, and bioprinting. Work is faster in industry and of course in industry payment is higher. Most importantly, there is a very good chance of seeing my designed product in the market, whereas in academia mostly people do research based on their interest and can not be a part of their end product or bigger picture of their goal.  

Both academia and industry have their pros and cons but speaking from my own personal opinion, like many people already stated, I would choose industry. I believe I would prefer a fast paced environment and set instructions/deadlines when doing research. Though I greatly appreciate the love and drive for research in an Academic setting, the need to continue applying for grants and the waiting time, just to ensure that a certain project has a chance to see the light of day is not something I would appreciate doing constantly. Academia does have the advantage that when conducting an experiment, there is no need to cut corners for a profit and experiments can be done to optimal environments. But that leads to how many experiments and projects are being run at the same time. In industry, once a project is set in motion, it gets finished within a certain time period and there is a larger chance of seeing results. In academia there is more freedom to do different types of research but the endless possibilities leads to endless projects and there would seem to be no end. Each approach to research has their pros and cons but I prefer industry.

At this time in my life, if I had to choose between conducting research in academia or industry, I would choose the latter. While conducting research in academia has advantages, such as allowing one to focus on a passion project, I would prefer to participate in the more organized industry research. Because the industry encourages individuals to work the same set hours each week, I think research in the sector promotes a better work-life balance. I now have a greater appreciation for maintaining a healthy work-life balance because I found it challenging to maintain one.