About 18 months ago I flipped whilst at work and walked out, went back two days later to sign out my contract and was done. For about 3-4 months before I'd actually been praying for a car crash on the way to work because I was so miserable. The people I worked for weren't pleasant, I was made to feel like a child in the company, and although I got to travel abroad almost every month, this was causing major problems with my girlfriend at the time.
So I left, and went back to work for the company I worked for previously, and they welcomed me back with open arms. So now I'm a Network Engineer and not a programmer, and this has meant that programming is now a hobby, not a job. I get home in the evening and actually want to work on my Game Engine, rather than it effectively being a continuation of my work.
So good luck! I hope you can find everything you're looking for!
And let me take the occasion of thanking GDnet for the wisdom it has bestowed upon me. I think I first started visiting this site when I was 16. I ws heavility into programming, and would probably have chosen that as a major if it wasnt for signals like this reverberating through this lounge.
I like programming for its creative freedom. In the same way I like woodworking for instance. You can tinker and create anything you can imagine, given enough skill. But thats not what most jobs are about, of course. You are supposed to jump through the hoops someone else sets for you, and in this makes programming about just as exciting as cutting boards to the same length al day, I would imagine.
Thank you, GDnet, for blessing me with that insight at a young age.
