Before I post this, I apologize for the content length:

Yeah this one hurts, because I've heard it all my life yet in MOST situations when I research a job and think "Hey that could be alright!"

There's always some nasty hidden majority of it that seems to exist solely to make sure nobody enjoys doing it too much. Like there's some misery quotient to be filled. Misery must be some kind of profit currency as a means of doing business...

As a hypothetical example: You like working with your hands and think assembling widgets or tools might be your thing. You romanticize taking pride in your work and imagining the end user being happy with your efforts.

But you find that once you get there, you're a slave to some Taylorism machine that demands infinite widgets in increasingly unrealistic timespans or else. And you never see the finished product. They also ban music and glare at you like criminals the entire time.

Or perhaps you envision that hardworking but noble slice-of-life-anime vibe, where you and some cool co-workers run a coffee shop and you're determined to earn a reputation for the perfect brew... except it's just you, by yourself, and a long line of grouchy jerks, and some machine is there yelling at you if you're not doing so many transactions-per-hour and your manager is displeased because you aren't selling two-coffees-and-a-plastic-tumbler per customer or something.

Less hypothetical: People tell me I'd make a great teacher. Yeah, I don't need to elaborate on those realities. (God bless you, teachers. Seriously.)

The education system is also just a human conveyor belt at this point.

Where are the jobs that are "just okay" or "fine"? What happened to the humble honest living? It seems like everything can fit under David Graeber's "Bullshit Jobs" checklist anymore.

With job satisfaction it seems either 1:100,000 odds like "career actor" or "beloved artist" or something, or you're just in the soul-grind machine that takes a perfectly human craft or interaction and forces it through a filter of spreadsheets and "KPIs" and "metrics" and "management" that makes everyone want to stop waking up.

How're your TPS reports coming along?

Hobbies always change when they become a job because it transitions from well thought out, interesting and creative projects to mass production and monotony.

As a hobbyist you have the ability to discover and work on unique, novel projects, without stress but professionalism is about consistency and speed.

Usually by running the business you can dedicate some time and resources to the fun and novel stuff. Thats how I run mine at least, as a woodworker. I don't crank out high grossing trendy stuff day and night but take the time to explore new ideas and get creative with it. That and using handtools instead of power tools.

Do you mean you used to like writing software by yourself, on creative projects that you were passionate about?

I mean, I 100% agree with this one. If I'm going to be at work eight hours a day, five days a week, I better damn well enjoy it.

I'm a software dev, too, but have always left companies / teams soon after a Lumbergh took over. That was always a very good career move for me, and I am almost always pretty excited to go to work.

Plus, Lumberghs will be there for things you don't enjoy as well. That would just make it harder, at least for me.

Sounds like somebody has a case of the "Mondays".

I'd say the tasks and role of your job should at least be enjoyable enough to not hate it but what I think is even more important (and makes me enjoy my job) is the work climate, being appreciated by colleagues / customers / management, and a sense of purpose.