Job satisfaction, or lack thereof

Do you like your job? Please tell me someone does, because I certainly don't.

If you're a regular reader of this site, you know that I'm about to throw caution to the wind and quit my primary dayjob. I recently came across this post from six months ago that shows how conflicted and awful I was feeling about my work last September, and how trapped I felt:

Do you have an "F. You" fund?

The problem is, I rarely like my dayjob. I don't like working full time, and while there are things about my field that I really love (working with college students, working with historical documents, working with cool technology, working with smart geeky misfits like myself) I hardly ever actually like the particular job I'm in. The politics of working academia get to me. The work is tedious. I get bored spending so many hours at a desk. It's to the point where I don't even think I should leave a job I dislike, necessarily, because I'm unlikely to like the next one any better. I'm a malcontent. (This particular job I do not dislike. I loathe it and can't wait to escape. Big difference.)

What I'm wondering is, am I alone in this? Do you like your job? What does that even look like? Do you look forward to going to work? Do you feel happy while you're working? If you were independently wealthy, would you still do this job? Do you find your job stressful and challenging, but do you find it so fulfilling to do it well that it seems worth it?

I'd love to hear comments, or read posts in response, that tell what your field is and whether you would say that you actually like your work.

Responses from readers:
Do I like my job?
Reminiscing about being a Temp



Related posts:
Major life changes for me this year?
Career change: The specifics