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I am under 30 but ageism scares the shit out of me. I love to build things and I am not keen on sliding into a management position. But this becomes the easies

I am under 30 but ageism scares the shit out of me. I love to build things and I am not keen on sliding into a management position. But this becomes the easiest career path once your soft skills start to increase to the detriment of raw coding skills. On the other hand I've seen enough engineers with decades of experience who said no to going into management and who are now basically irrelevant. Both these outcomes are scary but they seem to be the defaults for someone who goes with the flow.

henrik_w 10y ago
I just turned 50, and I still code and still love it. Like other people here have pointed out, keeping your skills up-to-date is key, and making a conscious decision to stay coding instead drifting into management. A good way to stay relevant is to change jobs now and then (maybe every 5 years or so), and also using your own time to learn new things.
- dunkelheit 10y ago
  Yes, definitely possible, kudos for pulling it off! But it requires careful long-term proactive decisions and actions. Which is not what most humans are particularly good at. That's why I used the word "scary". When you are a junior engineer you just crank out code and the level and employability of your skills automagically increase. But after some time this free lunch quietly stops. You suddenly have to manage your career.
  - uola 10y ago
    Right. People should be less concerned with competing with people in their 20s and more concerned with how they are going to keep up with the other people their age who instead of doing fun, hacker, startup stuff and chasing money spent their time being the "stupidest" person in the room and learning the (an) industry.
- vonmoltke 10y ago
  The problem with keeping your skills up-to-date is that many of the skills listed in laundry list job reqs are in things that have only existed for a few years. They're things that a sharp college kid can be just as knowledgeable about.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
hox 10y ago
"Sliding into management" might sound like it's an easy path, but it's an entirely different profession. Only those who are interested and have the ability should ever consider this route.
- Bartweiss 10y ago
  I think both things are true. Plenty of people do slide into management, but only the genuinely interested should.
- CaptSpify 10y ago
  But what are the alternatives? You are absolutely correct: You should only go if you are interested. But if your alternative is to be jobless....
kilroy123 10y ago
Recently turned 31 and I too am scared of it. I think all software engineers / devs should think about FI/RE (financial independence / early retirement). Or at least get setup, so you have money in the bank. You never know when you might need it later on in life. If you do experience tough times, for finding a job.

henrik_w 10y ago

I just turned 50, and I still code and still love it. Like other people here have pointed out, keeping your skills up-to-date is key, and making a conscious decision to stay coding instead drifting into management. A good way to stay relevant is to change jobs now and then (maybe every 5 years or so), and also using your own time to learn new things.

dunkelheit 10y ago
Yes, definitely possible, kudos for pulling it off! But it requires careful long-term proactive decisions and actions. Which is not what most humans are particularly good at. That's why I used the word "scary". When you are a junior engineer you just crank out code and the level and employability of your skills automagically increase. But after some time this free lunch quietly stops. You suddenly have to manage your career.
- uola 10y ago
  Right. People should be less concerned with competing with people in their 20s and more concerned with how they are going to keep up with the other people their age who instead of doing fun, hacker, startup stuff and chasing money spent their time being the "stupidest" person in the room and learning the (an) industry.
vonmoltke 10y ago
The problem with keeping your skills up-to-date is that many of the skills listed in laundry list job reqs are in things that have only existed for a few years. They're things that a sharp college kid can be just as knowledgeable about.
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]

hox 10y ago

"Sliding into management" might sound like it's an easy path, but it's an entirely different profession. Only those who are interested and have the ability should ever consider this route.

Bartweiss 10y ago
I think both things are true. Plenty of people do slide into management, but only the genuinely interested should.
CaptSpify 10y ago
But what are the alternatives? You are absolutely correct: You should only go if you are interested. But if your alternative is to be jobless....

kilroy123 10y ago

Recently turned 31 and I too am scared of it. I think all software engineers / devs should think about FI/RE (financial independence / early retirement). Or at least get setup, so you have money in the bank. You never know when you might need it later on in life. If you do experience tough times, for finding a job.