While maintenance may not seem to be glamorous it can be very satisfying and it is incumbent on all of us, particularly the veterans, to ensure that the next generation understand the value of maintenance based roles as a starter role – business and even our personal lives cannot thrive purely on doing new things – there has to be consideration given to a time to pause and operate in a steady state without the disruption that innovation invariably brings.
When you see bad code in the wild and deconstruct it, understanding its context and origins makes you a better developer because you know that when that application renewal opportunity comes around – and it will – you will do it differently.
The development lead has the responsibility to also make the new developer aware that things can always be better but one should not assume that improvement always requires something completely new.
We should also consider that some people get to a point in their lives where they’re actually quite happy to be doing maintenance work, they’ve lived on the edge of innovation and have been exhausted by it, now they want something a little more sedentary.
A life of smaller but equally rewarding victories.
As you progress through your career it is very likely that your roles and responsibilities will change and the focus of what you are involved in will also change.
What you work on may become weighted equally or more in one or another direction related to innovation versus sustainment.
The ideal role for some, may well be one where there is a balance of mostly maintenance with some innovation but then it may be wholly in the realm of just innovation or just maintenance.
Simply understanding that people have varying expectations and then understanding your own preferences is the key – assuming that everyone wants to blaze the trail of innovation is probably an unrealistic expectation.
