[sbirchall]

Yeah that's my experience down to a T.

I once heard one of the top generals talking on the radio about the state of the MoD and he was saying that the basic career path was to suck up a decade or two of dirt before finding a desk job so obscure you can hide away for the next three or four decades and earn a pretty pension. I've always found it intriguing how well this seems to parallel academia.

Where are you based? Get in touch if you fancy chatting some time (email in profile), I find it helps to vent spleen sometimes ;)