Math academia was not working well at all. Almost every single graduated from my PhD program wound up working in ads or finance.

The gatekeeping in math academia is extremely unfair, or should I say objectively fair but personally unfair. I won’t cry crocodile tears.

> wound up working in ads or finance

Because there's lots and lots of money in that and there's not in funding pure math. It sounds like your problem is with the people holding the purse strings.