My research involved a lot of programming, and I enjoyed making pretty GUIs for the code I wrote. So I already knew how to make Mac Apps.

I made database apps because I saw an opportunity. I had been thinking about doing something more related to my area of study (physics & computer graphics). However, all I came up with were some vague ideas for games, and games seemed too risky for me.

I do miss some parts of my research (especially maths), but for the most part I'm happy with what I do now.