I wouldnt entirely agree with that. I think it depends on the KIND of maintenance work. In my case, I have a few languages under my belt (both OOP and FP). But

I wouldnt entirely agree with that. I think it depends on the KIND of maintenance work. In my case, I have a few languages under my belt (both OOP and FP). But this means I have a reputation in the area as a "Mikey for Maintenance: He'll fix anything" Which actually wound up giving me the opportunity to study a lot of both good and bad designs. I still maintain things, but now people ask me for design advice and help with POCs too. Which, trust me, is less stressful and more socially rewarding than being a technical lead on a project (done that too). But that's not a common thing. I do agree with GPs assessment that there are good maintenance devs. But they aren't common, and it can be tough to tell if someone with 20 years of maintenance actually enjoys it... or just could never be good enough at it to get a chance at a different role.