After I left the cult of academia
I've seen some posts here and wanted to join in anew. This is longish, sorry. (Ed. for paragraph breaks) My u. never recovered from the body-blows Covid era dealt to enrollments, so now it's in trouble. Teaching is miserable since the literacy crisis blew up in our area. AI is the stank-icing on top, I guess.
I looked around for options for early retirements. Of course family commitments and ageing and caregiving oh my came into it.
I was growing out of interest in my sub-field. There was room to stretch into others if I wanted, so I was lucky. But I wasn't that enthused about pursuing those interests academically. I don't want to write any more scholarship talking only to other scholars.
That's a BIG change in ageing: you can see possibilities for new roads, maybe, but you don't have the energy. I had to get okay with that, and the fact that I really haven't wanted to develop another "career." One career per lifetime is enough. I also wanted out of the stupid do-more-do-more-do-more pace and to seriously downshift. Coming to terms w/ all that took time, talk and therapy.
It took a lot of financial finagling through different sources. Since I don't want another career I've figured out versions of passive income and a few different part time jobs in my interests. And I'll tell ya figuring things out and making things happen has been wonderful, a balm to my soul after having to rely on the SHIT systems in academia. (I never want to deal w/ incompetent, apathetic bureaucracy like that again.)
Autonomy and time are different and better. I'd love to do away w/ the myth of "oh but academia gives so much AUTONOMY and OWNING MY OWN TIME compared to other professions." Depending on your situation, the other cliche is true: academia gives you the "choice" over WHICH HOURS you want to spread that 50-70 hours per week. You don't really have "autonomy" either when the mental load stretches and gets heavier b/c higher ed is the Titanic going down. You can "choose," I guess, whether you're onsite or offsite carrying that anvil around your neck.... It was a relief to just take it off.
Social/professional adjustment. I still live in the town of my former employer and get some side-eye and impressions of gossip going on about how/what I'm doing. (No, not being paranoid; this is a little fishbowl town.) Sometimes I feel compassionate and other times I just revile what a stupid little Peyton Place this is. My family is here though, so, so am I. And the people in my new network of associations are far more chill and down to earth. Also a great relief.
Whatever you choose, don't worry. The "loss of status" is really in our own minds. You can grow past it. Only in the cult of academia is leaving the cult so intense and weird.
NOBODY OUTSIDE ACADEMIA CARES ABOUT ACADEMIA. (Except the crazy far right, but that's another matter) You will not be asked by anyone. It's a relief.
I know a lot of this is vague, but I love my privacy. I'm very happy, I feel a million times lighter, and I just want to encourage people. There is light and life on the other side. You'll be fine.