The idea of the CEO who kicks back, smoking cigars, and yelling “mush” couldn’t be further from the actual job. It’s an extremely demanding job title.

To those of you who have an aforementioned difficult job, I salute you. I hope you have found value and happiness in those fields.

One might think it involves lots of wine tasting, socializing, and beautiful sunsets across the landscape. It does. However, owning a vineyard is also, hands down, one of the most grueling professions.

What people think owning a vineyard is like:

When I’m there, I can’t find anyone because everyone is always on different sides of “the farm”, working on things. I usually wake up to an empty house.

There are constant supply runs. On the weekend, the property is full of customers and parties. The guest house has essentially turned into...

My parents own and operate Bleufrog Vineyards . I spend a lot of time visiting them and will attest that it is a seven-day-a-week job. There’s always something going on. They need to spray the vines or call a vendor or get labels fixed. They manage peo...

I do get perks. I can raid the snack store with my special discount.

Most people that start a vineyard don’t last. My parents are the 43rd vineyard in their area. Most that came before and after are either gone or a dying star.

Stick to visiting vineyards, not starting them. On the pl...

Meanwhile, other careers are hyped up, made to seem great — but fail to deliver on that expectation.

Perhaps game design, more than any other profession, embodies the dichotomy between what people see and “what goes into it”. The industry is chaotic . You work long hours and are underpaid. It’s a damn shame because more than $4...

I grew up in the 80s and 90s, in a golden age of console gaming. I didn’t know many boys who didn’t consider game design with awe. Our youthful naivete had us thinking that a game started out at 80% complete, and it was our job to play-test it until the end.

What people think owning a vineyard is like.

I’m sure there are grave diggers who enjoy their job. Maybe they like working with shovels. Their customers certainly aren’t pushy and talkative.

Morbid analogies aside, some careers are obviously less likely to produce happy employees. I’ve never heard of anyone aspiring to be a telemarket...

They had to decide the fate of many people’s careers. There was immense pressure on them from stakeholders and owners. Granted, most are now very wealthy — but they were undoubtedly aged by the job. It changed them.

When I was in finance, I worked alongside a senior VP and sat in on many of...

I do a lot of ghostwriting for executives. My job is to help tell their story, either in book or article form. The more I learn, the more I feel bad for them.

Not one of the CEOs I’ve written for looks back fondly on the actual day-to-day CEO experience. They loved being CEO. But they hated...

Deadlines constantly shift and are unrealistic. Managers ignore you. The jobs are very limited. The degree doesn’t transfer to many areas outside of game design. Many desig...