In answer to Biomedbill and Neil - I don't think I missed out at all. I went into the commercial side of the business with 50% more income initially and travelled the world. The only thing that I possibly missed out on was long service in the NHS with the possibility of early retirement and a decent pension. Having said that, I have managed to accrue a decent NHS pension (previous service counts as continuous for pension and holidays) along with a final salary pension from my company.
