I had a colleague, Madhu Karmakar, who neatly divided his life into two parts- academic and non-academic.. while being a prof. But what I am talking of is a life in academia versus in any other profession, particularly the corporate life.
Pluses of Academic Life
You can read a lot. It's part of your job too.
You are your own boss-in the class if you are teaching. Outside the class too, when you are ideating, writing a case, or a research paper. After writing, if you want to publish, there are some hurdles..
You can travel, if your institution supports this, for conferences, or faculty development programs, etc.. I have been fortunate.
You meet more intelligent people - students in higher ed. particularly, colleagues, and so on, many of whom are smarter than you. So you learn a lot.
In some countries, there's no retirement age.. even otherwise, part-time activity can continue for a long time..
You can have a social life, if you wish..
Negatives
The Publish or Perish menace is all-pervasive.
So is documentation, with all sorts of accreditations up for grabs. AMBA, AACSB, EQUIS, NBA, what have you..
Teaching loads are high in institutions which are not in the top few, autonomous variety. Also in many private colleges and B schools.
Some institutions treat faculty shabbily, with workplaces that are like corporate cubicles, or worse.
