In October 2003 I accepted a temporary job with Cambridge MA-based Vertex Pharmaceuticals. (That's a little white lie. I actually took a job with Overture Partners so they could contract me back to Vertex, since Vertex only works with companies, not individuals.) One of the folks in their IT group was going out on a leave of absence, so I went in on a temporary basis to help fill in while she was out. I got her desk, her phone, and her mobile phone, and one whole day to pick her brain before her leave started.
While there for the rest of October and November, I did general systems administration tasks, working mainly on FDA-regulated systems. I did hardware and software installations and general maintenance, processed user requests, helped plan projects, provided technical assistance to the department, and wrote documentation.