Firefighters and Arsonists

I was interviewing someone earlier this week. He said he loved being a firefighter. Now he wasn’t referring to a job involving real fires and fire poles and getting to ride on a fire truck. And I don’t think he was referring to sitting around for very long periods of time with nothing much to do but wash the truck, read porn, and pet the dalmatian. He was referring to being in a high stress, time critical, problem solving situation. So I asked the candidate, “If you enjoy firefighting, are you also a bit of an arsonist?”

I asked this because I had read the book “Fire lover: a true story” by Joseph Wambaugh. Wambaugh tells the extraordinary true story of John Orr, a firefighter who may have been, according to U.S. government profilers, “the most prolific American arsonist of the twentieth century.”

And while he may be the most prolific, he’s certainly not the only one.

Firefighter Arson – An NVFC Special Report

Interestingly, the three motives found were excitement (including recognition), profit (overtime), and revenge.

So how does this relate to software development?

1) What other occupations is software developer frequently compared to? Cowboy? Rock Star? Engineer? Artist? Author? Spelunker? Plumber? Architect?

2) What key traits does software developer share with these other professions?

3) What key traits are rewarded and recognized by your organization? Is putting out fires one of them?

4) Are there unintended consequences of that reward and recognition? Do you create arsonists?