It's not addiction. That makes in sound like self pat on the back disguised as a problem.

It's the equivalent of being neat freak. Some people are annoyed when they see breadcrumbs on the floor and feel a compelling urge to clean it. You experience a compelling urge to fix tech problems.

I think many people have that on various subjects.

It's not really a problem though. More an obsession than an addiction really. Being obsessive about your work is not a problem as long as you maintain proper live/work balance.

Nietzsche would approve that you are seeking power through usefulness. Even if he disdained money, he is a bit idealistic/outdated here. Hobbes says riches is a form of power.

Many of the problems are self inflicted or don’t deserve solving in the first place. In fact solving Facebook’s ad targeting “problem” is actively working against The Good.

Unfortunately, my career has been solving such things; and once I realized that, there was no going back and no job satisfaction.

I also take offense at the belief of “being the only one who can solve the problem”. This is an arrogant self serving justification to blind oneself of the harm the solutions cause.

I agree broadly with this, but was surprised to see the staff software engineer callout. Then OP linked to some other docs about how to avoid being stuck in rut at "merely" useful. At my job we call that "You can't get promoted to next level by doing the job of someone 2 levels above you."

This is a fantastic intro to the article I wanted to read, which was Sean's advice on how to best leverage this trait.

I identify very strongly with this. More than once in my career I have gotten feedback along the lines of:

> We really like your work! How can you help other engineers be more like you?

The thing I think (but usually don't say) is:

> You realize I'm like this because I often work directly against your instruction in order to satisfy my personal sense of professional pride and responsibility?

I'm similar, but make sure you're addicted to being useful, and not addicted to being needed - the latter can come about by being useful enough. Sometimes it comes from a feeling of wanting control, but opens the door wide open to abusive relationships (both ways).

One of thing I have noticed of good software engineers is while they are trying to solve problems, they also communicate with clarity to upper management chain. The clarity they bring to the table was always appreciated and also puts them in the career growth path easily.

I’ve never felt useful in any of the big tech companies I’ve worked at. It always feels pointless. Is it just the projects I’ve been assigned never being worth anything or whether it is my perspective on those projects, I have no idea