I used to work for one company for more than 9 years and I must say that my lessons learned would be similar. I also had to get out of my comfort zone many times, for example in regards to networking, finding time to exercise or finding time for myself in general. I have also learned that my first job wasn't the dream job but I have learned so much that I don't regret my time spent there.
Great post! Thank you for sharing your thoughts and congratulations on your curie vote!
Definitely no job is wasted experience, as long as you can learn from it. In fact, I think you won't be able to get your dream job without working a few (bad) ones.