My expectations have been met in both respects. As a senior linguist, I m a resource for colleagues who do not know as much formal linguistics as I do. I work with others on adding linguistic knowledge to our system. Conventional wisdom points to academia as the place for intellectual stimulation. I m not so sure.
Many academics are so focused on their narrow specialties that they don t talk much with colleagues.
Although I have not completely ruled out an academic job, I am also not willing to sacrifice other things in life to procure one. I enjoy the team atmosphere in industry, where I can bounce ideas off people who are on my side. One drawback is that I can t choose my research as freely. But my work at AnswerLogic isn t completely divorced from my research interests. With luck and planning, I hope this state of affairs will continue.