&gt; <i>I am glad I work in a meritocracy-based industry where anyone with any background can &quot;ship&quot; and succeed, and that has a low tolerance for bullshit.</i><p>This might be the most delusional thing I&#x27;ve read in this entire thread, and that&#x27;s saying something.  You can&#x27;t take a look at founders of successful startups and sincerely tell me that anyone with any background can succeed.  The whole idea of a startup excludes huge portions of the population (and I&#x27;m not talking about technical skills).  Low tolerance for bullshit?  The startup world is like 90% bullshit.<p>Your characterization of academia is way too exaggerated.  Leaving academia has always been a semi-permanent move.  There is no other job quite like academia, so unless you&#x27;ve done something truly amazing with your outside adventures then your resume is going to be inferior to people who have direct experience in the field.  It&#x27;s only logical.