[edgyquant]

Refactoring old codebases into something nice to work on is comfy though. It’s basically what I do in the startup world I just use less niche languages.

Although I’d suspect there isn’t a lot of refactoring going on in some of those code bases you describe.

[kevinmchugh]

I think this is a healthy and productive career path. If you can identify when a dead codebase is about to become fertile, and how to clear the debris to support new development, you can make a lot of money, have a lot of fun, gain a lot of respect, receive a lot of autonomy.

You just don't want to be the person tasked with work that's only done because some contact got signed. Identifying the difference is hard.