A job is a job

I used to have a huge neuroses about loving my job. If I wasn't enjoying every single second. If I didn't spring out of bed in the morning in a crazed frenzy ready for work. If I wasn't ready to spend 60+ hours per week. Then surely, I was in the wrong field/position and I should move on.

Then I saw it from a different vantage point.

What if my job was playing video games?

I'd still learn to hate it. Video games are a lot of fun, but part of the fun is knowing you can stop at any time. But when work is involved, you're being forced into a repetitive and indefinite grind.

Do I love my job? That's a definite no. Do I hate my job? No. I'm a ISTJ through and through, so it's not a huge surprise that I don't mind the work that engineering entails. After all, out of the 16 different personality types, I am of the two that's best suited for engineering. Can't be a coincidence.

Maybe this is all common sense for everyone else, but it wasn't as clear to me until recently. With this realization, is it smooth sailing from this point onward? No. I do see other potential problems on the horizon. Like after seeing what my parents went through back in swamp town, I made the conscious decision to never let my work take precedence over my life. So what happens when I'm thrust into a position of greater responsibility that requires more time investment? I'm sure most companies aren't thrilled with a candidate who isn't particularly interested in upward mobility. And there are my other personal neuroses. But at least, I have one less worry now.