Agency model is the problem. I just went through this with my spouse (again). She is not a developer, but in an advertising agency.<p>Agencies just win accounts, then hire people like you to do the grunt work, and they cater to every whim of the client, no matter how unreasonable. That&#x27;s the model -- why lose the client&#x27;s dollars? They&#x27;d rather burn you out and lose you instead if they need to lose someone. They squeeze out as much work per $ out of you as they can, then keep what&#x27;s left over as profit.<p>It really doesn&#x27;t matter what type of business -- law firm, ad agency, consultancy, CPA firm -- they all run on this business model, and you&#x27;ll notice the &quot;associates&quot; (that is, not the partners who bring in the money) are always miserable grunt workers.<p>Much better to get on a &quot;product&quot; side, as in, the company makes money by investing in a product or solution, and it&#x27;s worth it for them to invest in talent that improves this solution.