Pros
I have seen projects that I have contributed to benefit end users of our software; I think that in my own way I have had an impact on the patient care for the organizations I have worked with. That is one of the aspects of working at Epic that keeps me coming back. I find the need to build relationships with the team members from the customers challenging at times, however I think that some of the biggest leaps I have made in my personal growth have come from learning how I interact with others and communicate in order to accomplish projects. While many of my tasks are driven by outside forces, like my customer needs or healthcare initiatives, I have a significant level of autonomy for how I approach those tasks and what skills of mine I use to complete my work.
Kontras
It took me a while to learn how to manage my time, I experienced significant frustration stemming from small tasks taking charge of my days and pushing off the interesting stuff. I find that this is a challenge that never really goes away, in a customer facing role. It can be easy to lose sight of the big picture and get mired down in issues coming in from customers and internal projects. While I enjoy learning to build better relationships with my customers, it can also be one of the frustrating aspects of the Technical Services role. I have had specific individuals who occupied significant amounts of my time for explanation, training, etc. and ultimately did not follow through in a manner that benefited the project. When this is a person who is outside your control, it can lead to frustration.