For me, a job was something I did when i was younger and just needed money for the weekends. A career is something you either go to school for or work your way up the ladder. Either way, you worked hard for it (at least most do). I love what I do (sales, I enjoy helping customers) and my place of work, so I guess I'm one of the lucky ones. I do wish I made more $$ but I am one of the higher paid people in my field of sales. if I want to make more money, I need to change careers/ fields.
To the person who mentioned the drug usage and then realizing that life was too short. I guess I'm really old school because I think the job of a man/ primary head of houshold is to give his or her family what they need to be happy/ safe. Most of the time, that means you have to work very hard and try to make as much money as possible. If it's just you, then by all means be a lazy couch potato because it will only affect you but if you have a family, you need to provide for them and that usually means working somewhere you don't like or doing something you don't like.
For the most part, I think I am a great provider to my family but then you hear about this guy who works two jobs and has no life of his own because he has a mentally handicapped child or his wife is crippled and both need constant or special medical treatments. Then I feel like a lazy bastard myself.