[bluejellybean]

Assuming you don't need/care about maximizing salary, university research can be a pretty rewarding path. There are a lot of big institutions that need high quality software developers with 'real-world' experience to assist their teams.

Having been a bit burnt out on corporate life, I had decided to try this path out almost a year ago. My lab is in kidney research, and it has been a breath of fresh air to constantly be talking with various doctors and researchers across the US instead of simple businessmen. It has also be extremely heartwarming to hear from patients about the direct impact this research has had on their quality of life. Had someone recently speak to us, their story of struggle, and the love they had for this work legitimately brought a tear to my eye, extremely motivating stuff.

The pay is far from competitive (I have no degree, helps a LOT if you do though!) and as with any job, there are going to be day-to-day stressors. With that said, the plus includes sane working hours, lots of PTO, and typically many of these places offer top-of-the-line health care. I'm sure I'll head back to startup land eventually, the grass is always greener, but for the time being I have been able to get some excellent quality sleep, waking with excitement for what each day ahead holds.