I spent some time talking to friends last night about moving out of academia. Originally, my plan was to take a soft exit over the next five years. This conversation convinced me that that wouldn’t be the right move for me. I’m almost 40. That’s not ancient but it’s not young, either. Five years represents a significant portion of my remaining working life. Furthermore, five years is an epoch in the tech world. I simply need to be moving faster than that.

To that end, I’ve decided on taking a hard exit from academia. I’m giving myself roughly a year to get up to speed and then I’m hitting the job market.

Resources I’m finding helpful

This post by Thomas Foerster on transitioning from philosophy to tech has reassured me that making a move in the time frame I’ve given myself is feasible.