I must be the "lucky one"! I've done the "firefighting"! My current position, which is full time, was a position that was new to the company. The job description was vague.

I work for a software company, but anything that affects performance is a reflection on the company (from the customer's perspective), even if the problem is on their end.

I identified a predominant issue on tickets, and now know more about MSDTC than I care to admit. This was firefighting to an extent, as well. After MSDTC ceased to be an issue at all with our clients, I moved onto performance issues. I recently authored a paper that has become "official" for new customers (as of this past week, actually!).

In general, it details the installation and optimization of servers (and SQL specifically), with an emphasis on virtualized environments. I'm happy as hell!

There are "critical" issues, so there's a small amount of firefighting. Otherwise, I investigate -and research/learn on the job- issues with which I'm not yet familiar.

p.s. I you're running SQL and using the default installation/options, your server could be running hell of a lot better! :)

I wish OP the best!