I would say that security ops (SOC and Vuln mgmt in particular) at a small/medium sized company has to be kind of awful all the time. There is never enough time

I would say that security ops (SOC and Vuln mgmt in particular) at a small/medium sized company has to be kind of awful all the time. There is never enough time, funding, or management support to make meaningful change. This is further exacerbated by the fact that once you get a headcount or two, it can be exceptionally difficult to find qualified people (and those people are expensive). I did this type of work for 5ish years, and while I would never trade the experience for anything, I am glad to have moved past that point in my career. Now, I write software for a niche Information Security team at a Fortune 250. I am still impacted by these major events, but it is usually in the form of "can we add X detection for Y vulnerability". The work is challenging/enjoyable but I am still able to maintain a good work/life balance.