Do you not want to be a developer instead

This last week I've been doing a little scripting to help me create test data. It's given me a very good reminder of why I'm not a Software Developer.

I can 'code' to a certain extent. I know the fundamentals: I did a computer science degree so I can come up with three languages I know I don't like. But I just don't find a great deal of joy in writing software.

I've not yet finished the tool I'm building and though I enjoy every time bits of it work, I don't find the formation of the solution as satisfying as maybe I should do. The part that's been most interesting so far has been finding that a piece of software I'm testing doesn't do what I assumed it does. In fact it does something weird and that's potentially a problem. Finding that quirk felt rewarding in a way that deciding how to do things in a reusable, maintainable and understandable way just doesn't.

Over my career so far I've been asked the following question at least a dozen times "If you can write code, why not be a Developer rather than a Tester."
I've given plenty of answers in the past but none of them feel as complete as the following painfully extended metaphor.

(Firstly, understand that I know almost nothing about planes, guns, war or medieval carpentry. And one of those things isn't relevant.)

When people ask a Tester whether they want to be a Developer instead they're sometimes making a fundimental mistake. They think I'm a copilate, but I'm not, I'm a gunner. The developer is flying the plane, sure, and I'm along for the ride but I'm not wishing I could fly the plane. I'm shooting down issues and doing something totally different. Sure I could fly the plane if really needs be but it's not what I'm good at, and I don't think I'm ever going to care that much about it. I like the shooting stuff part though. In the same way the pilot could man the guns but they're not going to be as good at it as me and they are always going to wish they were flying instead, because it's a different role.

Without a gunner, you can still get to your endpoint and maybe your copilate will hit a couple of targets due to luck. But what you really need is someone dedicated to it. You want someone who loves the miticulous work of thinking about the best way to hit the target, sitting in the plane whilst it flies, and truly nailing it when the time comes.