It's one of those "I need a beer" in the middle of the the day days.

So a couple months ago I order a recombinant protein for my research. ~$2000 and some time later, the protein finally arrives. Turns out that the mass of the protein is wrong, because the affinity tag couldn't be removed. So here I am, with a protein with the wrong sequence, having spent two months desperately trying to avoid doing nothing more than twiddling my thumbs, and uncertain about how to progress.

On top of that, I recently saw in a new issue of a popular journal, a highlight on a research area that is very much related to my own (we're talking less than 5 labs in this topic) that has conveniently avoided citing my research. Even worse, there is an article in the issue on the same topic which has also conveniently avoided citing my research when it was entirely appropriate to, whilst citing lower impact research from a lab that could be said to be competing directly with what I do.

Screw academic politics. Academia has nothing to offer new scientists. The "freedom to choose what you work on" is a myth when the reality is that you work on what funds grants. The "job security" line is BS when political whims can wipe out entire labs. Then you have to deal with experts of the field that work like insular clique-y children when it comes to determining factual data. On top of it you are expected to work more hours for far less pay than any respectable job to do it. Forget advancement of knowledge, ethics, or professionalism, academia is a lord of the flies shit show.

Big pharma, big oil, government agencies, come swallow me up. I'm not going into academia.