> There are also a bunch of semi-government entities (research labs and whatnot) that are often funded by the government in some way, but won't necessarily put

> There are also a bunch of semi-government entities (research labs and whatnot) that are often funded by the government in some way, but won't necessarily put you on a government pay scale This is what my work is like, at a large independent biomedical research institute, and it's a good gig. I make probably 80-90% of what I would in industry*, work consistent 40-hour weeks, go in the office only when I feel like it, and I'm learning fascinating new stuff all the time. Maybe the best part though is that the research I'm helping with has direct application in the clinic: clinicians are using it, and I know for a fact that it's improving the lives of actual patients. (*) In terms of salary rather than TC. Given that I work for a nonprofit there's no possibility for stock or stock options. But then, I've worked plenty of long hours at startups to accumulate options, which combined sum total lifetime have made me not one penny, and the kind of large company that does outright stock grants, I'm not temperamentally suited to work in anyway.