So anecdotal evidence suggested to me that work life for the middle class at age 30 was terrible. Just absolutely miserable. It certainly was for me. It was for my friends. It was for the dozens (approaching hundreds) of strangers I sometimes coerce into interviews about their work lives. But this graph (scroll to page 3) also suggests this is the case. In fact, job satisfaction bottoms out at age 30. The good news? It only goes up from age 30 on.