[wildmXranat]

I agree with your level of enthusiasm. As I am in the same field, I can relate to the bad and the good sides of being a developer/contractor etc. There are downsides and frustrations that I encounter on regular basis, and while I have learned to avoid and cope with them, they do exist.

Managing relationships in your team, building a rapport with your management and teammates, delivering products that match or exceed expectations, contribute to the bottom line profit pool and balance it all with a healthy time schedule and proper nutrition. All these can be flipped to be negative, which can turn a career into a miserable chore. Notice that I'm aiming to dissociate the programming aspect from the that list. I believe that a programmer doesn't face a unique set of problems.

[TallboyOne]

As a very small side note, I noticed you mentioned nutrition and health.

I recently bought a large frame/large top geek desk. Apparently I'm behind in the times when it comes to this desk, as 4 or 5 of my friends have been using a standing desk for years and I never even knew.

It hasnt arrived yet, but I heard a standing desk will skyrocket your stamina, increase focus for most busy or easy work (usually write algorithms sitting down). It will also fix your posture and help your health greatly overall.

That should help a ton, I am going to write about it after a week of using it.