A basic thing I notice is every time I'm working on a interesting project at work, or when I change jobs the craving for a side project decreases. But then ther

A basic thing I notice is every time I'm working on a interesting project at work, or when I change jobs the craving for a side project decreases. But then there are only that many interesting things you can do in this industry for years. Beyond that you need to keep moving towards something new every 1 - 1.5 years. If you are lucky you will end up in a company that will let you go after interesting projects and will upgrade your responsibilities with your experience. Else you will have to keep looking for them outside, or start a side project in your spare time. I have a mentor who is quite a successful guy. I've grilled him enough to know the biggest secret is refusal to work for anything that sounds uninteresting. If you look at his career history, it just comes clear that he never touches any project that demands maintenance or support. Its through and through new interesting projects which involve innovating or building new platforms, frameworks or systems. I think Steve Jobs's advice comes handy: I think if you do something and it turns out pretty good, then you should go do something else wonderful, not dwell on it for too long. Just figure out what's next.