I think there is actually a U-shaped curve here. Working for an expert engineer is fun because their expectations are in line with reality, and they don't comp

I think there is actually a U-shaped curve here. Working for an expert engineer is fun because their expectations are in line with reality, and they don't compel you to solve problems in stupid ways or in the wrong order, because they know how things should work. In any case they understand when to help and when to delegate to you. Working for a bad engineer is the worst. They criticize smart or elegant solutions because they differ from the stupid way they would have done it. They try to dictate how everything is done because they think they know how, when all they really know is how to fuck things up. Working for a smart person from a completely different discipline is fun. Say if you are programming CGI special effects for a movie director. They have respect for your different expertise and defer to you when needed. They find joy in your work because to them it's a kind of magic. They don't tell you to solve problems in stupid ways or the wrong order because it's not their area. It's fun that they request impossible tasks sometimes, because working out how to get close to the impossible dream they are imagining is how you get to do your best most innovative work. Working for a inexperienced person from a different field is also fun. Although they don't know much, they know that, and won't dictate how your job should be done. They will still have appreciation of your expertise. They probably have unrealistic ideas about how long things take, and what is possible, but as long as they are willing to be guided, the project can still turn out OK. Their lack of knowledge of what's possible or how things normally work often leads them to come up with crazy new ideas, and working out how to make those real is my favorite thing.