Power
Newsflash: Guys and girls in white hats aren't always good-intentioned computer hackers. Sometimes, the white hatters are the geeks paid to fix a computer after its brains get scrambled like an IHOP omelet. And let's face it: When a user watches his PC or Mac suddenly display a blank screen...or the spinning beach ball of death...well, it could knock even an NFL linebacker off his feet. Right now, anyone who can restore that user's eBay auctions or Facebook posts is a medal-worthy hero.
That's where you come in. You throw on your computer superhero outfit and dash to the user's rescue. If you're working on a home computer, the user peers anxiously over your shoulder, spraying his garlic-infused breath onto the already-compromised components. Perhaps you're trying to restore a business' accounting database (not backed-up, of course); or recover three years' worth of client communications from a crashed hard drive (also not backed-up).
You're that client's only hope for resuming life as he knows it. Your sense of power is off the charts right now, but you also have to maintain your sense of ethical behavior. In others words, fix the computer to the best of your ability, but don't screw the client financially or berate him for his poor back-up habits. No matter how tempting it is.