I've been meaning to add my thoughts to this topic for a while, but, I'm Brad. But I think I can schedule in a couple paragraphs.
What Rubyeye stated is definitely close to where I fall. While I agree with a bunch of the points Ryan made in the original post, to be quite honest, it's pretty film-centric. The fact of the matter is, there are VERY few jobs available editing films (even indie films. Editing features is an even smaller percentage). Granted I don't have any concrete statistics to back this up, but based on pretty much everything I've experienced first-hand and heard second-hand from both professors and working professionals, probably 70-75% of editing work is in the commercial industry. Another big chunk of that is for web-based video, music videos and television programs (though there's a lot of crossover between those). Then in a small percentage leftover is for the few editors who work on actual features. All of these different mediums have different methodologies and working conditions for editors. The idea that every editing job you do will be under heavy-duty scrutiny by a director is simply not the case. Today for example, I spent 8 hours in an FCP suite working on a commercial spot, and I spoke to the director/producer of it maybe twice throughout the day. I recently helped out on a 2.5 minute spot for the Chicago Blackhawks where the director was doing the editing herself. Basically what I'm getting at is, each job is going to be slightly different. Some editing jobs will be simple as hell and won't require the crazy long grueling hours of capturing, logging, drafting, revisions, etc. And some will take weeks of tweaking and long hours.
I guess my main point is, while as I said, a lot of what Ryan was saying is true, there are a lot of generalizations being made about what an editing job is always like, and the fact is, there are no generalizations. The big point I will definitely agree on is that editing in the commercial world is very much NOT like editing an AMV. They can certainly share similarities and the knowledge you gain from working on AMVs can help you transition into real-world projects, but it's very important to realize that just because you really love making AMVs doesn't automatically mean that you'd love editing for a living. However, I'd guess that most people probably already realized this. But for the few of you who have had this idea, it's important to think about the differences and make an informed decision about whether or not you'd like to pursue it as a career. My biggest recommendation would be to just go out and make a short film or a "real" music video or something that ISN'T an AMV but still requires substantial editing. Try it out and see how much you enjoy the process and the outcome. If you find that you're just not having the same kind of fun you used to have, then perhaps it isn't for you.