First and probably the most important of them all: satisfaction when a project is done. It's like looking at the man landing on the moon and thinking "we did it" (of course in our small scale).

I also love to help in building great teams (even when these are project teams disbanded when job is done). E.g. they do something extraordinary which is praised or something which couldn't be done just by a group of people being employed in the same place. They achieved it because their team is something more.

Happy clients and/or users are great too. A client telling you how much better things are since you joined the project team or users telling how awesome is a product you built.

Being a PM means creating or doing something that hasn't been done before. In your question you mentioned being a PM is like a General Contractor - as a PM AND a General Contractor I couldn't agree more. The satisfaction comes from building something that didn't exist (whether a software product or a building), from seeing something that you helped come into being and knowing that you had a hand in it.

And it means never having to deal with the routine or mundane. PM is for those that get bored without challenges. We don't do Operations because it's too repetitive. So while the projects may be similar, they're never the same, and each one presents new challenges. And we're forced to grow with each one.

I think I'm outside the flock on this question... when a project is finished I don't really share in the satisfaction of creating something. Coming from an engineering/software developer background, I know the creativity comes from the designers/developers.

As a PM I get immense satisfaction from feedback I get from the team - when I hear comments like "this is going so much smoother with you than before". That's affirmation of what I feel the PM really is - a facilitator that sets up plans, processes and removes roadblocks.

I'm very proud when a project completes, but it more like the pride when your kids accomplish something great, rather when you do it yourself.

I am the same as PJM. The joy I get from being a PM comes from both my internal team thanking me for a smoother process and from the Client really feeling they got a great product.

Designing and managing a process that successfully coordinates a group of people to accomplish something of value.

I'd say being a facilitator. I'm not the doer, I don't have the skills. And I'm not the owner, I don't have the vision. But I can bridge the gap and get the job done. That's my place, and I'm good with that. I find it to be an adventure every time. How many people get to feel that way going to work?