I just had to say this has to be one of the best jobs out there
[ul]
[li]Never get bored doing the same thing all the time[/li][li]Half of your job is to learn new stuff[/li][li]Saving people time[/li][li]We don’t have to write C/C++ (much)[/li][li]Explore all kinds of different tools and languages[/li][li]Surrounded by awesome artists (most of the time)[/li][/ul]
Did i miss anything? I just love my job
You couldn’t be any more right in my opinion. As an aside, having been able to pick up C/C++ and debugging has been quite be quite interesting. I’m not fully versed but it is quite beneficial. I knew that I wanted to be working in games originally an animator, but this has been the icing on the cake the past 7 years for me. Most of the time I can’t wait to get to the studio to work on something, usually something that’s been banging around in my head the previous night. Luckily, these days we have VPN and I can just log on if I really need to do so. The beauty of the field and our industry is that most everyone is quite open to sharing tools and techniques. So we are always learning and growing. Great community.
I know what you mena, my firends hate me because I enjoy work. However, my wife would kill me if i had access to a VPN here 
I’m pretty happy with my current job (3D Artist) but I know there are positions I would be more happy with (Tech Artist) - and ofc: other companies that would be better for me.
It’s hard to try and become a TA via the job route though when ppl don’t appreciate your technical ideas, solutions and tools at your current workplace (and thus: you never actually get to do anything new and/or help others out coz your superiors doesn’t appreciate it) - and also: having too little experience with the industry to relocate and get another job.
So I’m… content with my current job - but I hate feeling unappreciated.
Yeah, I feel happy (and lucky) to have transitioned form artist/animator to tech art.
especially once I got past the fear of not knowing stuff,
and really embraced the idea that learning was part of the job.
I also think that artists tend to be contracted or and hired/fired with the production cycle,
whereas technical artists are more likely to be retained across projects.
(assuming you have a studio who understands our usefulness.)
To paraphrase Jeremy Renner in the Avengers “You and I remember Tech Art very differently…”
I didn’t chose the Tech Art life, the Tech Art life chose me. I’ve been happy with the switch to Tech Art ever since, for the reasons OP put forth.
The worst thing about it is that I just don’t have the time to learn everything that interests me 
@seth, not everybody had to work where we did
[QUOTE=RobertKist;20276]The worst thing about it is that I just don’t have the time to learn everything that interests me :([/QUOTE]
True story!
[QUOTE=djTomServo;20270]To paraphrase Jeremy Renner in the Avengers “You and I remember Tech Art very differently…”[/QUOTE]
Well…the discipline of Technical Art differs quite a bit from studio to studio, doesn’t it? I have also come to the conclusion that company culture is an enormous factor as well. Working at a studio with an amazing culture can make a strenuous and difficult job much, much easier. Of course the reverse is also true, if you have a badass job description and you really enjoy the work you do, but the culture is not a good fit, it’s very likely you will be miserable. There are definitely exceptions but this is just something I’ve observed. Though it might not be an easy task, I strongly believe its important to find a good cultural fit. 
[QUOTE=KhAoZ;20304]Well…the discipline of Technical Art differs quite a bit from studio to studio, doesn’t it? I have also come to the conclusion that company culture is an enormous factor as well. Working at a studio with an amazing culture can make a strenuous and difficult job much, much easier. Of course the reverse is also true, if you have a badass job description and you really enjoy the work you do, but the culture is not a good fit, it’s very likely you will be miserable. There are definitely exceptions but this is just something I’ve observed. Though it might not be an easy task, I strongly believe its important to find a good cultural fit. [/QUOTE]
I think thats a factor in any industry really… if you’re lucky enough to work with great people you can even enjoy what might be a horrible job. I stumbled into tech art a bit haphazardly but I’m enjoying it here - sometimes I mutter about wanting to throw it in but really, its hard to get past the fact that I get new challenges and learning experiences each day. I suspect I’d get very bored if I didn’t have that.
There’s not much I dislike … but render wrangling isn’t my idea of a dream.
It’s looking like I’m going to be starting on private tool development, from home, soon, for at least half my productive hours. Not so sure I’ll enjoy that as much as I do being in a studio though.