Unfortunately it seems that most programming jobs these days include a large component of doing non application programming - writing code that supports the build process.<p>Essentially meta-development - writing software to support writing software.<p>But I'm just not interested in this, which apparently makes me unsuitable for most jobs.<p>I love writing applications but don't want to get bogged down in all that stuff.<p>I'm thinking I need to do some other line of work and program for a hobby.
Every job includes a large amount of secondary work that needs to be done in support of the primary work. Sometimes the primary work is fun and the secondary work is a chore. Sometimes it's all fun. Sometimes it's all a chore.<p>I write software for a living, and occasionally I get sick of all the secondary work and politics, and wish I'd found another career and kept software as a hobby. Then I realize that working doesn't leave much time for hobbies, and I get paid well to do something I enjoy, and the secondary work is a small burden to get paid for the parts I still like.<p>There's also the simple fact that if you want to work on any sufficiently complex software, even as a hobby, you're still going to have to work on build scripts and tooling, unless you like repeating yourself and doing things the hard way.<p>I'm sure artists, auto mechanics, writers, and surfers all have plenty of chores to do, whether they're professionals or hobbyists.