My dad worked at SRI for nearly 30 years, and I think in many ways for him it was a dream job. The variety and freedom to immerse yourself in a totally different topic every six months to a year was something he really loved. But, I also know working there was quite stressful because there was not much job security. He had to always keep an eye on the hopper to ensure that once he finished his current contract that there would be another project for him to work on or there was a good chance he would lose his job.
