It's also debabtable whether academia is that great a career anyway.
That is because academia is not a life for everyone, it's still a job and it really varies from field to field what it's like. You have to have to be good at many different skills. It's more than just sitting in a lab doing research on your own. To be successful as an academic you not only have to do interesting research but you have to be able to write well, give talks on the subject, be very self directed, teach classes to undergraduates, graduates, and do service to the university that can include administrative work and contentious committee meetings. And what you spend your time doing varies quite a lot depending on what your field of study.
One rarely gets rich as an academic, unless ones does outside consulting or starts your own business. And depending on where you get a job can either give you a comfortable living, or afters years of schooling still be struggling financially while working 60+ hours. Full time tenure positions are becoming more rare. And more PhD's end up with adjust positions that pay poorly.
I know many very happy very successful academics, and I have also known many whom after 2-5 years leave for the business world because it's not the right place for them.
