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Seven for me if we only count close life long friends.
Two from a job where I worked 7 years. Actually three if I counted my husband whom I met at this job ;-).
Two from graduate school (one of my thesis adviser and one grad student in my research group).
Four from my last job where I worked 24 years.
If we also count ex bosses or co-workers whom I consider good friend and keep in touch over the years (exchanging Christmas cards, sharing family and life event news), I have a dozen more such friends.
The other day, I was chatting with a former colleague who retired 2 years before me. He told me that there were 3 things that he missed about work:
1. The people he worked with. There were few _ssholes, but there were also many very smart and great people.
2. The technical aspects of his job. He was a SEM (scanning electron microscope) expert for 20 years before became a manager. What he saw under the scope were amazing things. I agreed with him completely. I still miss using the TEM (transmission electron microscope) for my master and doctorate theses. I felt like Alice in Wonderland every time that I looked into the scope.
3. The fun, challenge and mental reward of trying to figure out technical problems and found solutions.
Yes, I also miss working in a team with smart and dedicated people to solve technical problems. I really appreciate some of my teammates after working with him or her for many years. We were like soldiers in a trench fighting all kinds of problems mostly technical but sometimes also bureaucracy nonsense.
For me, it was a small step to admire and like someone as co-workers then to enjoy them as life long friends.
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