Just think a bit, why are you still on this job?
Are you a mediocre programmer ? Are you poor either mentally or lack a power of will ?
Of course someone should fix other people's bugs and someone should do tech support. As well as someone should be a slave, someone should work as a cleaner or keep streets clean, but why you should do this boring stuff ?
I cannot talk for your the grand parent, but I can think of a million reasons to have such a job. Great colleagues, good benefits (vacation, health-care, etc.), tied to a small town without good opportunities, ...
By the way, fixing other people's bugs and tech support may not always be quite as boring and demeaning as you make it out to be.
Your disdain for menial work is misguided. There's more to life than your work.
The small town effect would seem to apply in my case. I'm not too close to a major metro, but some insane people commute from here.
Maintenance isn't so bad except for how it's managed. michaelochurch addressed this well in his reply [http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3024752]. I could do with less tech support, but haven't gotten around to automating it away.
I'm more interested in finding out what's "the norm" for the industry, than in discussing why my particular job is what it is. However, I feel like I shouldn't leave your implication unanswered. I have no reason to believe I'm a mediocre programmer or mentally deficient; quite the opposite. I write solid code, I turn flimsy code into solid code, and I can fix bugs without creating new ones.
Of course someone should fix other people's bugs and someone should do tech support. As well as someone should be a slave, someone should work as a cleaner or keep streets clean, but why you should do this boring stuff ?