Making something that has moving parts and works is satisfying in itself. Using your intelligence to make that thing readable, maintainable and well organised is a bonus. Making tools to help other folk do this is a further bonus. As the quality of so many other jobs is in freefall, just about every developer job is to be cherished.

My mid-size (140) well-run company is as healthy a human environment as I'm likely to find. Toxic bicycle associations I've been part of, or sleepy public sector workplaces I've known, have helped set my expectations. So I've absolutely no problem that my company makes a wholesome profit for it's founders. I see a little bit of it, and I'd much rather be coding than doing what they do.

Developer culture, as it's matured, is fairly remarkable for it's openess and flatness, and I'm mostly very happy with the company of developers and their weird hobbies. More women would be nice.

Despite the predictions that it would all move to India, developers have been constantly in demand since I started doing this 25 years ago. It's let me travel and work wherever I want, and now it's going to let me work remotely so I can spend time with ageing parents on the other side of the world. WTF. I must have been very good in a past life.