For more context, I develop on weekends and I enjoy that because I can tackle problems I find interesting. But I’m yet to find a job I enjoy that makes me feel whole.
Speaking from my own experience, the only times I've ever looked for a job that "made me feel whole" were also the times I felt like other important parts of my life were empty, and I was trying to compensate for that by finding some mythical job that would "complete me."
It's as big a mistake to ask that of a job as it is to ask it of a partner. If you don't show up to the situation already whole, no one person/thing else is going to fix that for you.
A lot of value to this wisdom. That said, individuals can have a different kind of brain and carrot/stick equation. For me, the only time I felt whole was when I was only working 20 hrs a week as a freelance dev and I took a lot of breaks/vacation. Made half of what I could be making as a salaried employee but I had the space to build the rest of my life to feel whole. Kept my dream space nice, not dreaming about code or work.
I doubt such thing is sustainable in average software dev gigs but I'll keep trying.
If you enjoy development but not your job, look for a better job. If you have some money saved, try startups, those usually flame out but they are fun while they last and if you're an employee you're getting paid, usually quite well.
