> "Their lives are passing them by while they toil away at something they hate."

This is probably true for a large percentage of society - very few people actually get to work at their "dream jobs". But people need to work to support themselves and their families, and IT work, even if you're not passionate about it, still pays better and is less physically demanding than working in a factory or a restaurant. You can get satisfaction from other things in your life - it doesn't all have to come from your job.

I've worked in software development for many years, and I used to be passionate about it. But after seeing enough disillusioning things about it, it's become just a job that pays the bills until I can retire, and that's OK with me.