[rmsaksida]

Another problem, I think, is that there is something inherently unsatisfying about activities like programming where the result of your labor is usually abstract and not a thing you can physically touch and admire in the real world.

Fixing things in my home, painting walls, assembling furniture often gives me more satisfaction and the feeling of a finished job than deploying an update for a web app. This wasn't an issue for me for most of my career, but it's something I feel intensely in the long term (10+ yrs) and as I get older.

I think it's the reason why every now and then you see programmers switching careers to farming or carpentry.