Why Zara Dar gave up her PhD and became a full-time online content creator

take rootOnce a passionate advocate for women in STEM, she recently made waves in the academic and tech communities by announcing her decision to leave her PhD program in Austin, Texas to pursue a full-time career as a content creator on an online platform. Creators to share exclusive content. Before leaving her PhD, Zara was already a prominent figure in the tech world, offering insights into machine learning and neural networks through her YouTube STEM channel which has over 126K subscribers. Along with his current YouTube STEM channel, documented in a candid YouTube video, his recent decision to switch careers to another online content creation platform has sparked intense debate about the barriers of traditional job paths, and the pursuit of personal fulfillment. What began as a hobby during his PhD soon became an important source of both income and personal satisfaction. Zara said she made $1 million from her new venture, using the funds to pay off her family’s mortgage, buy a car and avoid student loans. .
Who is Zara Dar?
Born and raised in Texas, Zara Darcy (she shortened the surname) comes from a diverse background, describing herself as American with Persian, Southern European, Middle Eastern and Indian roots. With a master’s degree in computer science from the University of Texas, she has established herself as a major influencer in the tech community. Zara’s YouTube channel, which originally served as a side project, focused on empowering others with educational content on STEM, specifically machine learning. But despite her success and recognition, Zara found herself questioning the traditional career trajectory presented by academia and corporate life.
The decision to quit: Where does it come from?
Zara Dar’s decision to leave the PhD program was both deliberate and complicated. Here’s why he suddenly decided to become a track changer.
No freedom to live your dreams, lack of funding and job security…
In a statement shared on YouTube, he explained that the pressures of academia were far from the idealistic vision he once held. While she entered the academic world with a genuine passion for research, she soon became disillusioned with the realities of academic life—such as the constant search for grant funding, overwhelming administrative duties, and lack of recognition.
Zara also reflected on her early desire to become a professor, envisioning a teaching career, running her own lab, and contributing to her field. However, she found that the sacrifices inherent in such a career—such as the lack of job security and the relentless cycle of funding applications—did not align with her personal goals and values.
In her YouTube video, Zara compared the lifestyles of corporate workers—whom she envied for their polished office jobs—to the reality they often face. Initially, the idea of ​​a corporate job seemed appealing, but Zara soon recognized the limitations that came with it, including a fixed salary and constant fear of layoffs.
“People whose lifestyles I once envied are often tied to someone’s vision,” she said, noting how corporate workers are often required to work in the shadow of their company’s larger goals. He acknowledged the sacrifices many corporate professionals make, including financial instability, long-term mortgages and limited vacation time. These factors made him question his place in such a world, ultimately contributing to his decision to leave both education and the corporate path.

A PhD is not a good use of his time…
Zara also elaborated on her decision on Instagram, saying she was accepted into a program where she would pursue a master’s degree along the way. Although it was difficult to leave the PhD program, she considered it a positive outcome because she is graduating with a Masters without additional costs.
Zara said she still loves research, but after much thought she realized that pursuing a PhD was not a good use of her time. “I’m not planning on a postdoc or a career in academia,” she admits. As she learned more about the academic system, she found it increasingly difficult to secure a professorship without a postdoc. Zara pointed out that some people she knew were in their third postdocs, which she found ‘crazy’. She also highlighted the low average salary for a postdoc — $59,022 per year in the United States — describing postdoc life as challenging and underrated. For Zara, the thought of being trapped in this cycle was the main reason she chose to leave academia.
Zara also looked at employment statistics for PhD graduates, which shed light on broader trends in education. According to the 2021-2022 survey (cra.org/resources/taulbee-survey/), 65% of PhD graduates transitioned into industry roles, 15% pursued postdocs or other research work in academia, 10% secured tenure-track faculty positions, 4 % became non-tenure-track faculty, and 6% entered other fields.

While Zara drew no definitive conclusions from these data, she found them telling of a broader shift toward academia and industry. This change, along with his own personal experiences, reinforced his decision to move away from an academic career path.