I first became involved with system design of electronic systems for public schools in the mid '70 as my day job.  My evening and weekend job was designing a recording studio and a "from scratch" audio console for that studio.  From that adventure I learned that it is not a good thing to work in an industry where the primary function is so enjoyable, (engineering a session with new talent in the studio,) that your competition would do it for free.  

I ended up with one of the best electronic system contractors in Los Angeles.  I was the most recently hired project engineer on staff so I learned to make a virtue of taking on anything anyone else was not familiar with or not interested in, or of assisting others on large projects, such as the base wide sound system for a major airport in a major oil exporting mid east country, where I performed all required written design analysis and prepared a step-by-step operating manual for a public address system distributed over 17 facilities on a 25 square mile air base/airport.  Re-cycle them petro-dollars.

Then it was designing board room projection and display systems and training systems in the mid '80s, until all the boardrooms went away via M&A activity.  At that point it was back to schools, where I learned to design and install telephone PABXs and data network wiring systems in addition to Public Address, Intrusion Detection and Cable TV Distribution.  I thoroughly enjoyed being involved in the construction of public infrastructure that would last for at least 50 years.  

The company considered it to be "bread and butter" low profit work that insured that they could carry experienced union installers, without which it would have been far less profitable to do the high margin jobs, (sports books in Vegas, PA and video surveillance at Los Angeles International, etc.) when they came along.  I was somewhat suspect at the company as I had difficulty maintaining with a straight face that 2+2=5 for a sufficiently long period of time and was prone to inopportune outbursts of candor.

Interestingly, in school work, these characteristics turned out to be advantages.  We developed a reputation for honesty and quality, and found ourselves numerous times the recipient of change orders adding many times the amount of work in the original bid because job authorities had confidence that we would get the job done, not overcharge grotesquely and not embarrass them.  There is much to be said for stodgy, boring work.  It can be very rewarding to have a job where you believe in what you are doing, enjoy and take pride in what you do and can feel that, in a small way, you are making the world a better place.  We all like to think well of ourselves.  It is best when so doing does not require massive self deception.

As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."