While I have not had experience in academia, I prefer the workforce of industry. I see how industry has a direct influence on helping the general public, by creating a device that will increase someone’s quality of life and in some cases even save their life. While it takes intense research to get to that point, the end-goal for research and development in industry is a marketable and usable product. In terms of academia, the end product may be a paper which will inspire someone further or shed light on a topic that is misunderstood. However, it does not directly result in a project to help the general public.