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I am in a similar position to you (though not quite IPO scale exit)!, and I am doing a part-time PhD in work related to what I was doing before so I get to use skills and facts learnt.

I think that I'm doing useful stuff, and the experience is fun!

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I didn’t know that a part-time PhD was possible. How did you end up with that arrangement, if you don’t mind my asking?

I would assume there's a lot of flexibility in non-funded PhDs.

I didn't know that such a thing existed either, in fact I thought that the maximum time you could ever take on one (watching the struggles of an old manager of mine) was less than mine is scheduled to take.

I am self-funded.

Part-time means that I can take up interesting opportunities (eg a new start-up) on the side. And I can keep some IP from being tangled up with the university, in case anything very interesting turns up (eg a new start-up)...

I've also thought about going back to school. Glad you're enjoying it!

How about starting a charity going into schools and helping people with tech?

At least in the UK a charity is a lot of admin overhead. The volunteer organisation that I spend most of my time with is not even incorporated. I also spent over a decade as a school governor (unpaid!) which I think made a difference, especially to the maths side of things.

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