I currently work as a medicinal chemist at a small pharma company. Basically I design and synthesize hundreds of compounds only to find out that none of them have the potential to become drugs. Rinse and repeat.

However, I'm currently planning my transition out of the pharma industry, towards R&D in either energy or industrial chemistry. The pharma industry has just dug itself into too big of a hole that I don't see it starting to emerge from for at least another decade, and I'd rather not have to spend that decade moving from job to job with layoffs always hanging over my head.

I work for an agency in the US federal government as a mid level bureaucrat.

Sounds like most of my friends. Do you enjoy it?

Sadly enough I kinda do. It's a job so of course some days are better than others. But on the whole I like what I do.

There's nothing sad about that! I've heard nothing but good things about Federal work.

If it's anything like working for a university, at least you can go home at the end of the day being proud that you did something (however small) to further the general public good. You can't find that in most jobs.

Metre maid by day, banker by night. I get a lot of bad rap. :(

Like this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGxY-Ypo73o

Sucks they use you banking services too. Hard luck.

That term means something quite different in Australia. Just FYI.

I actually can't work out which one. Is it a lovely rita, or a Stephen Hester?

http://www.metermaids.com/

....school work?

Lovely Rita. We Poms thought of it first ;). Just didn't have the 'funds'

Heh - never underestimate a customer's ability to fuck up the unfuckable. Perfect design, perfect installation, and they'll have it broken within 30 minutes of starting operation. ; ) Keeps people like _Bruce_ and I employed.

I feel dirty for some reason...

Ph.D. in psychology employed as a professor at a medical school.

I bought my first console (Intellivision) during my masters program and my first Intel-based computer (PC-XT) during my doctoral program. I've been a gamer longer than I've been a psychologist...