3 ms·

At some point your brain stops working, you won't be able to compete with fresh graduates, the capability:wage ratio will be very low in your case; you'd get a

by bitL 9y ago

At some point your brain stops working, you won't be able to compete with fresh graduates, the capability:wage ratio will be very low in your case; you'd get a prompt boot, never to be able to be employed on the same level again. Experience in our field has negative value and unless you get another M.S./PhD every 10 years to demonstrate you are still on top, you are toast.

AnimalMuppet 9y ago
False so far, and I'm 55. I kick the rear end of fresh graduates. They can type a lot faster, turn out more lines of code per day. Great. I don't write the bugs that they write, so I don't have to take the time to find and fix them. I don't make the design mistakes that they make, so I don't have to fight the design flaws to get things done. They work harder; I get more done, and I get paid accordingly. And if you think that the answer for "your brain stops working" is to go into management, all I can say is that I'm glad you're not my manager...
- bitL 9y ago
  You are probably in 1% of lucky ones. Imagine you have a bad year (sickness, family issues etc.) and you don't have management that is used to you around (e.g. there is a reshuffling). How long would you manage to stay? You should put this into your equation. I also dislike being a manager but I am more capable manager than all managers I've been under (maybe I am just unlucky but I don't think so). We all know the best teams self-organize and don't need managers, yet all companies enforce some power structure around to keep control, and reward mainly members of that power structure.
  - throwaway_4564 9y ago
    Software companies are about power structures more than they are about software.
  - AnimalMuppet 9y ago
    > I also dislike being a manager but I am more capable manager than all managers I've been under (maybe I am just unlucky but I don't think so). In my case, I'm pretty sure that I wouldn't be better than the ones I've been under (maybe I would be better than one or two, but not the majority). I'm also more likely to get fired as a manager, due to a tendency to say what I think. If you're a better manager than the managers you've been under, you may be of more value to your company as a manager (even if you hate it). I may be selling myself short, but my value as a manager could be less than zero...
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- ensiferum 9y ago
  Where I come from ppl your age get downsized and replaced by younger employees with less pay. The +50yo will never get a job but is still +15 years away from pension. At the end of tge day only the money matters. You can't pay rent on "job satisfaction". Neither can you eat it or retire on it.
Clubber 9y ago
In my experience, fresh graduates may (arguably) run faster, but they don't know which direction the finish line is.
ionised 9y ago
> At some point your brain stops working Yes, when you die. Children are much better at learning new spoken languages, but by your logic no adult should even bother trying to learn a new spoken language.

by bitL 9y ago

AnimalMuppet 9y ago

False so far, and I'm 55. I kick the rear end of fresh graduates. They can type a lot faster, turn out more lines of code per day. Great. I don't write the bugs that they write, so I don't have to take the time to find and fix them. I don't make the design mistakes that they make, so I don't have to fight the design flaws to get things done. They work harder; I get more done, and I get paid accordingly. And if you think that the answer for "your brain stops working" is to go into management, all I can say is that I'm glad you're not my manager...

bitL 9y ago
You are probably in 1% of lucky ones. Imagine you have a bad year (sickness, family issues etc.) and you don't have management that is used to you around (e.g. there is a reshuffling). How long would you manage to stay? You should put this into your equation. I also dislike being a manager but I am more capable manager than all managers I've been under (maybe I am just unlucky but I don't think so). We all know the best teams self-organize and don't need managers, yet all companies enforce some power structure around to keep control, and reward mainly members of that power structure.
- throwaway_4564 9y ago
  Software companies are about power structures more than they are about software.
- AnimalMuppet 9y ago
  > I also dislike being a manager but I am more capable manager than all managers I've been under (maybe I am just unlucky but I don't think so). In my case, I'm pretty sure that I wouldn't be better than the ones I've been under (maybe I would be better than one or two, but not the majority). I'm also more likely to get fired as a manager, due to a tendency to say what I think. If you're a better manager than the managers you've been under, you may be of more value to your company as a manager (even if you hate it). I may be selling myself short, but my value as a manager could be less than zero...
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
ensiferum 9y ago
Where I come from ppl your age get downsized and replaced by younger employees with less pay. The +50yo will never get a job but is still +15 years away from pension. At the end of tge day only the money matters. You can't pay rent on "job satisfaction". Neither can you eat it or retire on it.

Clubber 9y ago

In my experience, fresh graduates may (arguably) run faster, but they don't know which direction the finish line is.

ionised 9y ago

> At some point your brain stops working Yes, when you die. Children are much better at learning new spoken languages, but by your logic no adult should even bother trying to learn a new spoken language.