The Meaning of Work: Problem-Solving

It has been clear to me for many years that I'm more comfortable fixing than creating. Editing comes more naturally to me than writing; I would rather answer questions on a topic I know thoroughly than prepare a presentation on it; I would rather debug computer programs than write them. I don't know if any programming shops have specialists in finding and fixing logic errors, but if I could work in that role I might have had a longer career in computer programming. It was never an option for me because I always worked in tiny programming shops where everyone had to be a generalist. I can remember my most consistent feelings of satisfaction in the computer business came from fixing a "good problem"--not so challenging that it would require days of tedious work, but not so simple that a routine operation would fix it. In the periods when I was considering leaving the profession, I would have that feeling of "damn, I'm good at this", and frequently think I must be crazy to abandon it as long as it paid well.

I'm well aware of a downside to always focusing on problems: The inherent negativity is wearing. In the last year I was shifted from mostly programming with some technical support to mostly technical support. There was a big physical advantage to the change because my hands were wearing out from too much typing, and changing the daily routine was positive. The biggest disadvantage was getting into a negative mind-set, no matter how much I tried to view myself as a helper. I was running downhill at that point anyway, so I shouldn't read too much into the experience, but there is a cautionary lesson there that I need some balance of fixing and creating.