r/LeavingAcademia
22k members
r/LeavingAcademia is a subreddit with 22k members. The most common kinds of discussions are advice requests and pain & anger, and the community frequently discusses phd, academia, job, leaving academia, and industry.
Leaving academia happens all the time. It has to happen, actually, to many people. Not everyone can become or wants to become tenured researchers/professors. Here, we can discuss reasons to leave or to stay, how to smoothe the transition and how to succeed "outside".
Popular Themes in r/LeavingAcademia
#1
Advice Requests
: "Full Professor at R1 Considering Leaving - Need Advice"
18 posts
#2
Pain & Anger
: "leaving academia feels like breaking up with someone who never really loved me back"
11 posts
Popular Topics in r/LeavingAcademia
#1
Phd
: "Quitting my Phd tomorrow. I’m terrified but I can’t keep going."
121 posts
#2
Academia
: "Academia is such a scam!"
79 posts
#3
Job
: "4 months into a new Job outside academia"
74 posts
#4
Leaving Academia
: "Leaving Academia feels like breaking up with someone who never really loved me back"
58 posts
#5
Industry
: "I've decided to leave academia - looking for advice on Industry"
51 posts
#6
Leaving
: "What did you redefine your dream as after Leaving academia?"
48 posts
#7
Transition
: "Stuck on the "Once you leave you can never go back" thoughts. How do you get past this?"
44 posts
#8
Career
: "Top of my PhD class, strong research background… not even one biotech interview. Why?"
38 posts
#9
Postdoc
: "When did you know it was time to leave academia?"
29 posts
#10
Research
: "A repository of career advice from folks who have left academia"
21 posts
Member Growth in r/LeavingAcademia
Yearly
+8k members(53.1%)
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About
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Last updated: July 18, 2026