My guess is that most of the regular posters here are physicists. I am a physicist, an astrophysicist specifically, and I'm also a graduate student. I, too, and interested in what career physicists do. I created a website which includes interviews with various physicists, which might help you:
http://www.astromiror.org/physicists.html . It's not complete by any means, but it should help you get an idea.
My research is in the high-energy astrophysics field. I use observations from space observatories which are available to the public online. I use a computer and several computer programs and code to process that data (clean it up, adjust it, calibrate it, make it more useful). I manipulate the data to try to get the most information out of it. I model the data to compare the observations with current theories to try to gather evidence of physical processes that might be going on in space. I have no reason to leave my office building for work reasons unless I'm attending a conference or another special event, such as next year's launch of a space observatory I'll be working with (that's really work-related fun).
I work in a joint university and government center, and the atmosphere is very friendly and close-knit. We're almost like a family here. As a graduate student, I'm in a bit of a unusual situation where everyone is willing to sit down with me and help me learn. Walking down the hallways, I'll pass by some brilliant and very, very busy physicists, but they really are willing to make time to help me with my work in every way they can. Actually, just about everyone here is always very, very busy. Physicists love their work so much that they tend to take on many projects at once, perhaps too many. There are frequent visits from visitors from other parts of the country and around the world who come here to collaborate and give talks.
Good question about salary. I am paid from two graduate student fellowships which total $24,000 a year until one of the fellowships end. Both my advisers (one a senior university faculty member, one a senior government civil servant) have salaries in the 6-digits. A young assistant professor here who does very good work is paid in the 80k range. I'm not sure how typical that is. (If it matters, I'm in an area of the United States where the cost of living is low.)
This is all my experience in the few years I've been working. I'd be interested to see how others respond.