I did some energy consulting, tried to be an independent research scientist but got pushed around too much by NSF, and now work as a seismic hazard modeler for a nonprofit[1]. Seismic hazard and the related science has always been closer to my interests than longer-term plate tectonic stuff, but we couldn't get access to our intended field area in Tibet so I sort of pulled that project out of my... hat based on some other research we were doing on a neighboring mountain range during that expedition.
I never liked school (although parts of grad school were great and my postdoc was fabulous); I like doing science but don't want to be an academic. Most people with my background go into energy or stay in academics.
The seismic hazard work is great. It's programming and stats-heavy but there is still a lot of room for looking at the Earth (topography data in GIS, earthquake data, etc.) as well as travel and working with people from all over the world. There is also still a huge amount of room for improvement at all levels, from the science to the modeling techniques and tools, UIs and workflows.
I keep thinking of starting a little research institute (nonprofit) so that I could more easily get grants, etc. but I'm busy enough with work and unfunded but fun side projects that I never getting around to tackling all of the legal and paperwork. One day...