I spent so long at uni they started paying me to stay - not quite got a PhD yet so I'm still kicking around the system, but unless you're very lucky uni is a pretty crappy place to work. A lot of what used to be good about working at uni has been stripped away by increasing class sizes, increasing bureaucracy and decrease in discretionary time.

A couple of years ago I got a long term freelance gig which I was describing to a professor I talk to about once a year the other day. He said:

"Interesting work, good money, and they leave you alone to get on with it. Sounds brilliant".

Although my current work has next to nothing to do with what I did at uni, it was a valuable experience. However I don't think most people are as lucky as me.