guess it depends on where you land. i'm in academia now and it's absolutely horrifying. understaffed, constantly dropped into new projects while other ones are on fire, tons of overtime, professors don't respect your standard 8-5 schedule, frequently working weekends, under endless stress, unappreciated, etc. i write software in a research facility, not university IT, so YMMV.

The schedule / lifestyle of an academic is almost opposite to the 9-5 'just a job' the OP is looking for.