>>106625712
My favorite times in software have been when
1. someone needs a tool or way to do something
2. they ask me to figure out how to do it and leave the door wide open
3. I'm free to just build and explore and put something useful together
4. they use it (and I feel validated)
This has been really rare. I had an internship like this. Really it's the way enterprise software and the SDLC is set up that just grinds you to bone. Stupid little features and bug fixes and tiptoeing your way around big gross legacy codebases while the organization holds the constant threat of Indians over your head.
I make $150k right now, if someone offered to hire me to do the little tool guy thing I mentioned for $90k I think I would take it.