I’m doing 90% maintenance and 10% development, is this normal?

During one of my internships I found I spent a lot of time doing bug fixes. You have to realize that as an entry level employee you aren’t going to get the sexiest work, you’re going to get the grunt work no one else wants. It’s unfortunate, but it’s h…


This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Fa'rath Shba 🚀

During one of my internships I found I spent a lot of time doing bug fixes. You have to realize that as an entry level employee you aren't going to get the sexiest work, you're going to get the grunt work no one else wants. It's unfortunate, but it's how it is at every job.

Additionally, you have to realize that to a company, having code that works is more important than having code that is clean. From your company's perspective, you changing the existing structure is money wasted on redoing something that is already done and potentially introducing even more errors. Usually these types of companies aren't computer/software companies so no sufficiently high manager has the technical background to know that sometimes you need to do these major overhauls. That said, if your company is run by technically competent people and they understand the value of good code, you may get more leeway, although sometimes you need to choose your battles (the main purpose of a business is still to make money, after all).

That said, you are not unreasonable in wanting to be able to leave your mark on the software and wanting more meaningful work. It is also unfortunate that you have to deal with so many projects at once while fielding requests from so many different managers.

As a programmer, it is a fact of life that you will spend more time maintaining and modifying other people's code than you will writing your own from scratch. If this is a problem for you then perhaps you should stick to developing as a hobby and pursue a different career. If you are OK with maintaining code, but you feel you are not being used effectively or are being overwhelmed, then that is a matter you need to discuss with your manager. If your problems are more serious than that or if you feel like your managers don't know how to effectively manage your skill set then it would be a good idea to consider finding a position at a different company. Given your stated low salary, this is probably your best course of action.


This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Fa'rath Shba 🚀


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