Extremely happy and thankful. I think it depends more on where you work than what you call yourself or how much you make.
I enjoyed programming as a kid but after learning more about how much programmers were often exploited (especially in the games industry) and having a few bad experiences doing small contract jobs I figured it wasn't for me.
Luckily I somehow stumbled into it again half-way through university and started doing full-time contracting.
With some of my clients, work was a nightmare. They'd demand the impossible and wouldn't be satisfied no matter how much effort and thought I poured into it. The work was unrewarding and I constantly felt like a fraud.
With others it was complete bliss. I got to work with clever people who are good at what they're doing and learned a lot from them. My input was appreciated and I was given a lot of control over my work. The teams were great and the people I enjoyed spending my lunch breaks with.
Over time I earned enough money to be able to search for more of the latter kind of work while turning down more of the former. These days I can pretty much pick and choose and make sure to keep an option to walk away if I'm not certain about a job I'm taking.
I have never been happier. But if you had asked me when I was in long-term contracts with the worst clients, I would have told you a very different story.
I enjoyed programming as a kid but after learning more about how much programmers were often exploited (especially in the games industry) and having a few bad experiences doing small contract jobs I figured it wasn't for me.
Luckily I somehow stumbled into it again half-way through university and started doing full-time contracting.
With some of my clients, work was a nightmare. They'd demand the impossible and wouldn't be satisfied no matter how much effort and thought I poured into it. The work was unrewarding and I constantly felt like a fraud.
With others it was complete bliss. I got to work with clever people who are good at what they're doing and learned a lot from them. My input was appreciated and I was given a lot of control over my work. The teams were great and the people I enjoyed spending my lunch breaks with.
Over time I earned enough money to be able to search for more of the latter kind of work while turning down more of the former. These days I can pretty much pick and choose and make sure to keep an option to walk away if I'm not certain about a job I'm taking.
I have never been happier. But if you had asked me when I was in long-term contracts with the worst clients, I would have told you a very different story.