What is frustrating in this thankless profession? Let me count the ways...

Actually if I didn't Love what I do I never would have made it this far. It is the creative & thought provoking aspect that has me hooked. There is nothing like the pride of creating a functioning somethingorother out of electrons & ideas.

But I think probably the Most Frustrating experience, (aside from endlessly being forced to take shortcuts to make short term savings which are costly in the long run by managers whom don't understand exactly what it is That I Do...) would probably be my experience with Extreme Programming.

Why? Simple. The concept of sitting two guys down at a single desk and computer to write code may be more productive, but it leads to burnout much faster.. And with regards to what you mentioned about smelly (i.e.BO) coworkers...ACK! And if you don't like them it gets worse. I don't need to smell what co-workers had for breakfast to be productive.

So how do I cope?

When I get truly bent I stop working & go on PerlMonks :-)

At lunchtime I would NOT eat with my coworkers. I'd go for a walk, get some fresh air & restore my personal space.

And then when I get home I sit down at my workstation & get some real work done.

Thank Bhudda I don't have to deal with that anymore...

Wait! This isn't a Parachute, this is a Backpack!