A postdoc without job prospects, for instance. If there's one thing less desirable than churning out Java for an insurance company, then it's being a lab monkey

A postdoc without job prospects, for instance. If there's one thing less desirable than churning out Java for an insurance company, then it's being a lab monkey with no realistic chance of getting a tenure track position. So, yes, quite a few people want to be code monkeys.