Industry or academia? In other words, do I want a job immediately after graduation or do I want to become an expert in my field? Through my first experience in research, I have looked ahead to where I want to be in five years and what I don’t see is a crystal clear path.

All my life I told myself, “After you get your bachelor’s, get a job and never go back to school. Finish all the schooling I am required to do and never set foot in a classroom again.” (Ironically, I would love to be a high school teacher some day.) I was young and didn’t like to write papers, take tests, and read books. Instead I wanted to build and play with Legos or watch fighter jets tear up our skies. As soon as I finished college, I would be forever in industry. No more books. No more papers. No more testing.

Boy had I been wrong my entire life. What I learned has changed how I perceived the academia career: attending graduate school, completing post-doctorates, and even becoming a professor. Pursuing the academia career encompasses much more than just additional years of schooling. A big component of post-bachelor’s studies is research. To me, what you do in research is just the same as what you do in industry. There is an objective, a funding process, and countless hours of work. However, to me, I see one significant difference between industry and academia: the freedom to choose as a professor. Professors are free to pursue their research in their interests. Their interests could have an immediate impact or be useful for applications years down the line. Industry professionals, on the other hand, need to produce something that can sell. Someone has to want what they “research” in order for industries to remain in business. Industry professionals primarily serve their consumers. Professors are free to explore. They please their minds while enriching science.

As my research internship concludes, I don’t know if I want to be done with school after four years. The freedom given a professor is very enticing. I know for sure that graduate school is again an option alongside going directly into industry. The money is nice, but the power of choice to pursue one’s passion is great. Luckily, I have three and counting more years to decide.