Devon, I was teaching in buffalo ny, tasks that I mentioned are the crap jobs in October when the winds are whipping and the water is 40 some degrees. Getting in the water a half hour to 45 minutes before everyone else can be brutal even with a dry suit. Sitting on shore with 30 mph winds, below freezing temps and rain logging everyone in sucks, especially if you are only on shore duty that day (only happened if we had a large group of 20-30 people)
A matter of perspective... to me, being in the water, or on the boat...is always the 'nice' stuff. I used to dive in the UK, including the north of Scotland, so I can happily count cold water/wind/freezing temps amongst my experience pool.
This goes back to the 'hobbyist versus career' dive pro issue. The 'worst' tasks a hobbyist pro might encounter might be some inclement weather and surface cover. A full-time pro has a gamut of additional, non-diving specific, tasks that are essential for basic dive center function, but are even less glamorous and enjoyable.
I'm not saying that being an instructor or divemaster sucks, it was one of the best jobs I've ever had, I'm saying that most people don't realize that there are tasks that are not the most fun and people that are looking at going into divemaster courses need to realize that as a new dm or new instructor they are going to get assigned those tasks.
Sometimes it does suck. That's the truth. But you've got to take the rough with the smooth. Again... hobbyist versus full-time makes a big difference in the scale of 'suckyness'.
I once spent virtually 5 whole days without sleep - during a typhoon, keeping our boats from getting smashed and our dive shop flooded, hammered by wind and rain and waves...exhausted.
I once spent a week shivering and grey on a dive boat and in the dive shop, when a Dengue outbreak hit the staff (me included)... but work had to go on...because you couldn't cancel diving for people on their once-a-year dream holidays.
There's been many times when I've worked 7 days a week for months on end... no rest days....turning up hours in advance of customers for their 'early am' dive...and working late into the evening, long after the night divers had departed... every day having to muster the energy, enthusiasm and civility that customers expect.
Once a beloved customer 'blocked' the toilet at the dive center. The compressor guy was filling tanks. The boat guy was loading the boat. The DM was briefing customers. Everyone was on a tight schedule. Who was free to fix it? ME.... the dive center manager.
To be honest with you I think working and teaching in buffalo where we deal with some pretty bad conditions would better prepare me to work in many other places around the world.
Weather/conditions is a tiny part of the overall scope of the job.... don't over-estimate it. Tropical destinations may appear 'easier' on that small scope of comparison... but there's a hundred other factors that need to be accounted for. The big ones are the volume and nature of customers.... very demanding, very pampered.... overwhelming in numbers.... and often very incompetent in their diving skill. It can be one long headache...very stressful... and demands exceptional time management, the patience of a saint and an extreme amount of endurance. You just don't get that sort of 'market' in cold water destinations.
Cold weather isn't nice... but I honestly think I shiver more during a Philippines' monsoon season than I ever did tucked up inside a drysuit,with a hot drink close to hand, in the UK. You'd be surprised how much colder you get when sleep deprived and exhausted...
Trust me, there's a lot of times I look at my counter-parts working at home (USA and UK) with a certain amount of jealousy... much less time-induced pressure, better pay and conditions, better employment/rights protection, lower customer volumes, days-off, evenings off, better work-life balance, no typhoons or monsoons, less demanding customers and a more defined job description... to the extent that cleaning toilets might seem unthinkable to them...
Regardless of location, as a full-time pro, there's always going to be days where you don't want to be there... and jobs that you don't want to do.
Life's pretty good for me now... I work freelance, doing predominantly technical diving. This brings me back to low customer volume, 'easier' customers and a lot of the 'dirty' jobs have gone... because I charter at centers/boats rather than working in them. That said, there's still an awful lot of work that goes on...and a lot of sleep missed... that the customer would never be aware of.. often travelling over-night between locations/courses and missing sleep... having to work for hours after diving ends to process videos/photos for the customer, and maintain equipment and maintain the website/blog/FB media, and answering emails,and processing certifications. I often work evenings also...teaching lessons etc... so the 'invisible' work can last well into the small hours of the night. And then... at 6am... up again and ready to rock with a smile on my face, bags of energy and sufficient motivation to lead and inspire a customer through a demanding course.