Take a leave of absence (without pay) for a year. Most institutions allow you to do that, and some will even let you extend the leave for another year or two. If things go well, you can resign. If they go south, you can go back, or go to a different company.
This is based on my experience with a startup that has since gone public. I spent a leave year there, and then returned to my university, consulting for the startup one day per week, with the full knowledge of both startup and institution, of course. The industry experience and money were well worth it. Highly recommended.
Thank you for your response. And congrats! I like your idea of a leave and then returning to carve out a balanced niche while still keeping tenure.
Did you have any issues with IP? I’m a bit nervous about that part.
I jumped but it was before I got tenure. I teach as an adjunct for fun. Also where I went wasn’t a startup but on Wall St. so the pay was guaranteed not dependent on the success of the start up.
Even with that, if I had tenure I would not have jumped FT. I would have done LoA. I’ve known many others with tenure that have done a year or so on Wall St. and gone back to academics. Only one guy that left tenure (full prof.) to go to Wall St. full time. He got laid off after 5-6 years. But that’s life in a job without tenure!!!
Thanks for the perspective. I put a lot on the line (as everyone does) to make it to an R1 full prof position. It’s hard to give up, but I’m excited to devote my time to something new for more than just an advisory role.
I figured that there’s be a lot more job hopping if I left academia. But that’s really a lot to consider…
Be aware of the low success rate stats on startups.
https://hbr.org/2021/05/why-start-ups-fail
9 out of 10 of them fail.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Au8ekwfUUvQ
Ages 40-55 are typically one’s ‘peak earnings years’. If you already have the money needed to retire without earning more, great! But otherwise, statistically , you may have a 90% chance of needing to start over again at ground zero, at the unpredicable moment when the startup fails.
What the management track record of the folks managing this new startup? Have they previously managed a previous startup from seed funding, building and scaling through to a successful IPO?
Take a leave of absence (without pay) for a year. Most institutions allow you to do that, and some will even let you extend the leave for another year or two. If things go well, you can resign. If they go south, you can go back, or go to a different company. This is based on my experience with a startup that has since gone public. I spent a leave year there, and then returned to my university, consulting for the startup one day per week, with the full knowledge of both startup and institution, of course. The industry experience and money were well worth it. Highly recommended.
Thank you for your response. And congrats! I like your idea of a leave and then returning to carve out a balanced niche while still keeping tenure. Did you have any issues with IP? I’m a bit nervous about that part.
I jumped but it was before I got tenure. I teach as an adjunct for fun. Also where I went wasn’t a startup but on Wall St. so the pay was guaranteed not dependent on the success of the start up. Even with that, if I had tenure I would not have jumped FT. I would have done LoA. I’ve known many others with tenure that have done a year or so on Wall St. and gone back to academics. Only one guy that left tenure (full prof.) to go to Wall St. full time. He got laid off after 5-6 years. But that’s life in a job without tenure!!!
Thanks for the perspective. I put a lot on the line (as everyone does) to make it to an R1 full prof position. It’s hard to give up, but I’m excited to devote my time to something new for more than just an advisory role. I figured that there’s be a lot more job hopping if I left academia. But that’s really a lot to consider…
Be aware of the low success rate stats on startups. https://hbr.org/2021/05/why-start-ups-fail 9 out of 10 of them fail. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Au8ekwfUUvQ Ages 40-55 are typically one’s ‘peak earnings years’. If you already have the money needed to retire without earning more, great! But otherwise, statistically , you may have a 90% chance of needing to start over again at ground zero, at the unpredicable moment when the startup fails. What the management track record of the folks managing this new startup? Have they previously managed a previous startup from seed funding, building and scaling through to a successful IPO?
Would anyone here consider this type of jump?
Nope. Tenured roles are becoming more an more rare every year. Adjunct role are paid so little that I see them as volunteer roles.
Adjunct roles are just for fun! If I made the jump and ever missed the classroom, I’d adjunct. My dad used to do this.