Not an Academic After All

It's time for that semi-annual post about my actual life. A lot of you know this already, but I figure it's good to share with the rest:

I'm not getting my PhD in computer science. I don't know if it's the program or the school or just me, but it's not working right now. I'm sick of having my work come home with me, I don't enjoy research, and the things I care about just aren't the things that computer scientists care about (which makes reading the garbage they call writing even harder). Beyond that, I think that Academia is broken beyond my ability to tolerate. The publication cycle discourages meaningful work and places emphasis on individual accomplishment over advancing societal goals. The amount of ego I've encountered here is astonishing, especially considering our inability to accomplish anything without collaboration.

I'm not entirely certain what comes next, but I've got a year to work it out, as I won't be done with my Masters coursework until next December. Most likely, I'll just enter industry for awhile and be a productive member of society, but there are other possibilities on the horizon. Whatever the case, I'm glad I came out to CO. It's been a fantastic 14 months so far in which I've made some wonderful friends, grown in ways I've long wanted to, and learned some surprising things about where my priorities lay. I'm glad that I've got more time to lean on this community as I figure out my next step.