I've been thinking about this for a while and it's great to see these deep insights so well communicated with excellent quotes.

I cannot stress enough the importance of joining only quality projects. The part about 'There are no heroes' is spot on. If you join a project that is beneath you because you think you can save it, you're deluding yourself.

You could pull off an incredible technical achievement; play a critical role in an epic clean up of the project, but if the majority of people in the company take it for granted and don't understand the nuances and benefits, it's only a matter of time before the project will take a wrong turn and there's nothing you can do.

Cleaning up the project and processes is just part of the problem. The other part of the problem is a people problem and fixing that may not be within your power.