Here's my somewhat novel perspective (may not apply to the reader).

I can enjoy most any kind of work. (I've done everything from programming to accounting to clerical work and manual labor, for private companies and for the "gubmint".)

What stops me from enjoying it are people and the settings they place me into, that don't let me get the work done. Noisy cubicles. Crap tools that I can't change nor improve upon -- "can't" meaning I'm not allowed to.

The other thing: Disrespect. Don't ask me to fix your crap, and then look down your nose at me while I'm doing it.

If you're unhappy, don't just look at your job, look at your environment. If you're being treated like crap and disrespected, move on. Don't waste another moment there.

And don't listen to those "you should be happy to have a job" people. If that's really the case, you'll already know it. Otherwise, it's manipulation -- whether direct or indirect, e.g. societal -- do get you to do something that someone else -- who created the situation -- doesn't want to take responsibility for.

P.S. By "don't waste another moment there", I generally mean an unnecessary moment. These days in particular (in the U.S., at least), it's best to find the next job before leaving the current one. (Income, and being a better prospect because your are "currently employed".)

I for one am perpetually see-sawing between insane focused passion for what I am doing and full blown existential crisis. I see this as a blessing and a curse.

I think a little bit of impatience can help you achieve more than others who sit around waiting for things to happen/dawn upon them, but at the same time too much can mean you miss out on the benefits of some things that take time to build. I think the balance between the two is very specific to the individual and unfortunately can only be found through experience and making your fair share of mistakes (and successes).

I generally feel ill anytime I see someone using a quote by someone famous to help define their life but this always brings a smile to my face when I think about it:

"If you don't know where you are going, any road will take you there."

I think you should try many different things. It's too much pressure to think you need to have the perfect job right now. Your goal at this point is to learn as much as possible about yourself in order to have the most data about what you're good, what you like to do, and what you think you want to do. I wrote a blog post that touches on the subject.

http://dalethoughts.com/2012/01/should-you-diversify-or-shou...

Ultimately, if you are unhappy then it won't hurt to look at other options.

I've written a blog post that may help in terms of helping people find the right job for them: http://voltsteve.blogspot.com/2011/09/how-to-find-job-for-ha...

Hi, thank you for all your responses. I've always known/ thought in theory that the Internet is or should be great at enabling friendships and goodwill (beyond just clicking on "Add to Friends" on Facebook, which is what I assume people do on it... yes, I'm off that grid), but it is still really heartening to actually see it happening.

I think I am going to quit, because it is succeeding in making me feel lousy about myself, despite my attempts to rationalize it.

I am angry with myself though for not having got my act together enough to get a new job before I do that. I can't quite say why this is so, or maybe I just can't admit it to myself. The only answer I can come up with is it's a combination of a lack of discipline, and a slight difficulty (and extreme vagueness) in what I'd like to do.

I'm a bit reluctant to apply for another programming job at the moment; I don't know how much of it is coloured by the current one. (I think by most objective standards, my job right now is pretty boring, if not positively mind-numbing - debugging poorly-written financial software that's 2-3 decades old on Windows - in terms of the programming, although the "business" aspects of it, the uses of that software and the calculations, are interesting to think about.)

But beyond wanting to "really understand how businesses work" - why/ how certain companies do well, why/ how people work together, what motivates them, why some people get paid so much more (for doing what appears to be sod all) than others, what it means to "compete", what a "competitive advantage" is, much less a "durable" one, how one can possibly see into the future - I don't know what specifically I can or want to do that would be financially useful enough (yet?) to someone else that they would be willing to pay me for it.

I've been trying to read up on what people's perspectives are on how or what makes businesses work (and spluttering and gagging over the tonnes of vacuous crap that gets spouted) - books, blogs, newspapers, annual reports - but it's been unstructured, and I have nothing tangible to show for it. I feel like I've some glimpses, but no insight that I can write or speak coherently about.

And I've wasted too much time wallowing and feeling sorry for myself (as you can imagine).

... I'll need to think about it some more - what I want to do, how, why. But it has helped just being able to "talk"/ write about it (it is easier to do it anonymously), and to see/ hear all your advices. So I'd just like to say, once again, a big "thank you".

I would take some action, whether it's delving into something, or at least doing some research, even if you have no clear idea what it is you like. Taking some action to me gives me hope. Waiting around and doing nothing is a recipe for depression.

Well put. The biggest depressive factor in a work environment (to me, at least) is having a feeling of hopelessness, of being "stuck" in a job - even if it's a job you kind of like, being stuck in it makes it much less enjoyable.

You don't even have to quit, but look around, find prospects, prove to yourself that you can find another job if you choose to, and you may find your outlook becomes much brighter. It's a feeling of being in control of your destiny.

And hey, if one of those prospects looks like a more promising path, then all the better.

Sound advice. Often if I am bored with my job I search for jobs online. Not necessarily thinking of finding a new one but just helps get the feeling of control back.