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From what I'm gathering as a developer moving into 30, you have two options: 1. Market yourself so that when you hit the pay ceiling, you can move into consult

From what I'm gathering as a developer moving into 30, you have two options: 1. Market yourself so that when you hit the pay ceiling, you can move into consulting/freelancing with enough of a name for yourself that you can justify your rates to businesses. 2. Move into management. If you hate marketing, start looking for management/mentoring opportunities now so that your next promotion/job has some sort of manager title, which will continue your mobility up to the Director -> VP -> C-level.

hwstar 11y ago
3. Squirrel away as much as possible while you have that high paying job and retire early. When retired, work on open source hardware and software.
- toomuchtodo 11y ago
  So much this. Save as much as possible when you're young; just like football players and strippers (or any industry where age is paramount), it doesn't last forever. EDIT: 32. Didn't save enough in my 20s. Saving as much as I can now (living below my means, paid off my mortgage, maxing out 401K/HSA/IRAs).
- Animats 11y ago
  Yes. Most people who make a lot of money all at once blow it in about 7 years. I'm at year 32 of not blowing it. Although I've lost more to inflation and low returns than I've spent.
danieltillett 11y ago
There is the third option which is start your own business and don’t work for anyone. Not the easiest option, but you don’t need to worry about ageism.
- pinaceae 11y ago
  oh boy. if you run your own biz, you work for someone - your customers. and you need a steady supply of those, which looks easy at the beginning, but a couple years in can get really, really hard as they retire and you suck at sales. seen this so often not even funny, forced early retirement on shitty terms due to a tanking self-employement biz.
  - danieltillett 11y ago
    Well I didn’t say it was easy :) You do have a little more control over the situation than you do if you get laid off for turning 40.

hwstar 11y ago

3. Squirrel away as much as possible while you have that high paying job and retire early. When retired, work on open source hardware and software.

toomuchtodo 11y ago
So much this. Save as much as possible when you're young; just like football players and strippers (or any industry where age is paramount), it doesn't last forever. EDIT: 32. Didn't save enough in my 20s. Saving as much as I can now (living below my means, paid off my mortgage, maxing out 401K/HSA/IRAs).
Animats 11y ago
Yes. Most people who make a lot of money all at once blow it in about 7 years. I'm at year 32 of not blowing it. Although I've lost more to inflation and low returns than I've spent.

danieltillett 11y ago

There is the third option which is start your own business and don’t work for anyone. Not the easiest option, but you don’t need to worry about ageism.

pinaceae 11y ago
oh boy. if you run your own biz, you work for someone - your customers. and you need a steady supply of those, which looks easy at the beginning, but a couple years in can get really, really hard as they retire and you suck at sales. seen this so often not even funny, forced early retirement on shitty terms due to a tanking self-employement biz.
- danieltillett 11y ago
  Well I didn’t say it was easy :) You do have a little more control over the situation than you do if you get laid off for turning 40.