Will I Regret Quitting Academia?

The main question I seek an answer for

I still remember one of the main holdbacks when I was deciding whether quitting academia was the best thing I could do with my life. And I have previously talked about the reasons holding me back, as well as why I kept thinking that was the right path.

Besides guilt, the worst feeling to overcome was potential regret. Most of my non-academic friends didn’t understand it. 'Well, if you regret it after a few years, you can always go back,' they'd say. But my academic peers knew that taking more than a year off would prevent me from returning almost permanently—unless I kept publishing peer-reviewed publications.

But how was I supposed to publish while starting a new full-time job and taking care of two very little humans? It was a no-brainer. Quitting academia, if done, was going to be a permanent decision.

Was I going to regret it? Well, I didn’t know the answer for sure, but I had never read anyone say they did. I started researching testimonials of other former academics who had made that transition to the outside world. What was their life after? Did they regret it?

To my surprise, I didn’t find a single testimonial saying they did. Some missed the academic freedom, some missed publishing or the university setting. But they all shared the same feeling: they used to be overworked and underpaid, but not anymore. They also used to struggle with multiple aspects of their mental health, but it had improved dramatically.

It took me over a year to get rid of the self-imposed 'academic tag' I had put on myself, and I still introduce myself as a 'former academic' from time to time. But I feel no regret. Ultimately, I decided that I needed to take the 'make a choice and never look back' approach. Even if quitting the only adult life I had ever known was harder than jumping off a cliff into saving waters.

Things are not perfect. I miss conferences, journal clubs, and academic freedom. But I have gained other sorts of freedom. The decision must be, ultimately, yours and only yours. But know that, if you are considering the transition to any other field, a step into the unknown, you are not alone. I had all the feelings. I was scared. So I did it scared.