Hardest thing to learn: perl. I've been meaning to for years.

Hardest thing to accept: technology moving backwards, when we transitioned from using usenet newsreaders to webforums in browsers.

If it makes you feel any better, the average fireman probably gets paid more than the average footballer.

There are some volunteer firemen, but there's a far greater number of footballers who gets paid nothing because they're not professionals.

BTW: firemen are not the only people who saves lives. So do farmers and truck drivers. Because you and I do not know how to produce our own food and would starve without them.