Financial World VS. Bioinformatics for a future?

From some comments back here....

It's absolutely amazing how everything makes sense until you actually start looking for a job. That is when I come to a conclusion that my Ph.D. is field-wise useless. How DO you get that first experience if no-one wants to hire a "book-worm"? With the exception of summer-time gigs back in undergrad, what else can anyone leaving a Ph.D. program boast? I am confused, to say the least... I am (almost) where the other guy is -- 26, Ph.D. in Bioinformatics, no kids BUT I am married and thus stuck in the New York Metro area. One would assume that with all the big pharma around someone would take a chance on the new girl, but nooooo.... Well at least not yet. Plenty of places that want me to do pattern recognition on financial data though. So my question is this: Is it worth it to look for/take a job in consulting (hopefully closer to bio) or an analyst position in finance (don't know how that's gonna work out if I've never went past the first "intro to finance" book in my life)? Or should I hold out for pharma to come around? (alternatively: should I build a neural net to predict my chances:)?)
I would really not want to leave bio completely, but I got to eat, right?
Thanks for the advice...

Not too sure what to say.... Bioinformatics is a rough one. I am seeing a lot of resumes come across my desk from this area. I have a background of a couple of years working in it so know a bit, and I am not that bullish on it.

A lot of companies have gone in to the bioinformatics space...not many have made money. Lion built the SRS system, got paid a bunch of money to develop stuff...and then got sold for not very much money to Biowisdom. OmniViz just "merged" with them as well. Rosetta/Merck is making a good run of it.... but I wouldn't say that any of them are making a whole lot of money. The number of start up's who have come and gone is too long to list here....

A round about way of saying I don't know what you should do. Staying in Bioinformatics is a rough way to go. The other companies and types of companies that you mention have, I think, a better future.....Given that you have to live in NYC, I would go to the financial world...