Took me 5 days as well, though I might have spent more than an hour on it daily. I stepped away from the cube for about 4 years and was able to pick it up again just from muscle memory.
I now use the cube as a meditative practice. For 1-3 minutes, nothing in the world matters with the exception of solving the cube. Doesn't work well as a meditation tool when you start doing other cubes however, like the megminx. It just becomes a frustration device.
I have been looking for a developer position since 2013. I am still looking. I currently work as a test Engineer and have a steady income, but life is genuinely getting worse and worse as time goes by.
Contrast that with blog posts of 20 somethings telling you how to be happy and be productive on medium as they enjoy their Facebook job is quite frustrating and can make things worse.
I am starting to build a brand in the hopes that I can make something out of it and never have to worry about finding a development job.
Besides not listening to people on the interwebs, I don't really have any advice. Just wanted to let you know that you are not alone.
Of course people do. It's more your reaction to it. Like you are financially invested in people who don't make food but people who bring food a couple feet to the left.