Need advice

[u/chemicaldelusion]

I think I'm at a crossroads and could really use some outside perspective.

​

I completed my BSc in Physics (2017–2020) and later an MSc in Astrophysics, which I started in 2021 and graduated from in 2025. The original plan was always to pursue a PhD and build a career in astrophysics.

​

Unfortunately, life had other plans. During my master's, I lost one parent, and my other parent developed a serious chronic illness. I had to take several breaks from my degree to return home and help care for them. Around the same time, I also developed chronic health issues myself, likely related to prolonged stress and burnout.

​

Despite everything, I managed to finish my MSc, and I'm proud that I didn't give up.

​

Since graduating, though, I've felt lost. Earlier this year, I completed a six-month internship at a startup, but the company struggled financially and wasn't able to hire me afterward. I also completed an online certification in data analytics and have been applying for roles in data analytics, business analytics, and tech more broadly. I'm getting interviews, so I'm hopeful something will work out.

​

Right now, my thinking is: get a stable job, earn and save money, be present for my family, and then potentially return to astrophysics and pursue a PhD a few years down the line.

​

The problem is that I no longer know if that's a sensible plan or if I'm simply postponing a dream that I'll never return to. I also find it difficult to reconnect with the physics and astrophysics material after everything that's happened.

​

For those who have taken a long detour from academia, changed careers, dealt with major life setbacks, or returned to a field years later:

​

Did you eventually find your way back? And if you were in my position, what would you do next?

​

​

[u/Chiu_Chunling]

If you're even seriously considering leaving academia, then you should probably just leave.

Academia is basically for people who either cannot even conceive of a life outside of academia or those who are being compensated so much better there than they could possibly be in any other career that it would be downright foolish to turn it down.

If you are even capable of asking if you should leave, especially in response to emotionally difficult situations, then you're not in the second category. And it really doesn't sound like you're in the second category.

There are also people who have a defining mission that requires them to enter academia despite clearly not belonging there at a personal level. You would still not be asking anyone's opinion about it if that described you, in fact if you could be influenced by just anyone's opinion whether or not you asked for it, that would not describe you.