Falling into a Great Position
Nothing is perfect. Period.
Sometimes we're lucky, and some times we make our own luck. Sometimes.
I was just sitting here thinking how much I really enjoy the position I have today. I really do enjoy this industry, not that I'd have ever thought I would - from the outside looking in, but once in (thanks to a good friend) I have found it to be one of really interesting people, very challenging problems and more than enough variation to keep me interested for more than a decade now. Pretty lucky, I'd say.
It's funny to me to see how the most captivating parts of this job are the ones that take me back to the work I did in grad school - numbers. Data. Lots of it. The market data is very interesting to me. Getting it from the provider, making it faster, better, easier to use - that's a blast. Getting it into a simulation/analytic engine is also a ton of fun. Seeing all the numbers roll around from the market data all the way through the various systems to show up finally at the client is a lot of fun. Number plumber - that's me. Kick in the pants.
It's important to realize that after all the work I've done that has nothing to do with my degree, it's neat to realize that I really have come back to my 'roots'. I guess you gravitate to those things you really love doing. Sweet.