I think I fall somewhere between the two extremes you guys represent. It's not hard and it's not easy.

Also, some developers are developers because they wanted to GTFO of some situation and don't give two shits about personal development, best practices, efficiency, long term maintenance, or any else. They're just showing up for a paycheck.

Ideally you want to avoid those developers but realistically you don't always have a choice because not everyone who is passionate about software can work for Goopplebooksoft.