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I've been a programmer for 30 years, and I could reasonably be considered to be a senior dev. Yes, I'm very happy with my job. I work at a company which cares

I've been a programmer for 30 years, and I could reasonably be considered to be a senior dev. Yes, I'm very happy with my job. I work at a company which cares deeply about solving hard problems well, and that care translates into good working conditions, great work/life balance, support from management for engineering concerns, and a very nice benefits package. There is also a focus on having separate promotion tracks for managers vs. more technically inclined people. There have been jobs where I have either tired of the novelty of the problems, changes in management, changes in company policy, etc., but at that point I find a new job in a better company and continue to find happiness. If you're not happy where you are, and you are considered a senior dev, then take responsibility for yourself and find a position that you enjoy. If you're locked into a company because of golden handcuffs, lack of local resources, or family obligations, then find activities outside of work that provide what you're missing.

spike021 9y ago
If you don't mind me asking some questions: How do you feel about working in this industry? Have you moved jobs a lot? The reason I ask is my parents have been "working" or in their adulthood as parents/slightly before having children for roughly 30 years and for the most part have kept the same jobs. So as a new software engineer fresh out of school, they find the idea of needing to switch jobs for higher pay, new challenges, etc. to be a bit unbelievable and disagree that I should eventually do that.
- cableshaft 9y ago
  It's a different world nowadays. Switching jobs every 1-3 years is more the norm now than being a lifer (for most industries, not just software dev). They're probably coming from the perspective of the time they lived in, and don't realize that the world has changed quickly around them over the decades. And the younger you are, the more expected it is. My parents are the same way.
- TomMarius 9y ago
  Yes, switching jobs is necessary in IT most of the time. Some HR people will even see staying at one job for too long as weird.
eludwig 9y ago
So um, where do you work again? (jk) But seriously, great answer. I am in a similar situation time-wise. 30+ years as a dev. My situation is a little different. I am currently working at an international bank out of NYC. The people I work with are great, but the company situation is not that great. Poor, outdated equipment, horrifically restrictive IT security policies (no DLs from Github, or very limited, many legit dev sites blocked, horribly intrusive performance killing anti-virus software, etc, etc, the list goes on and on: basically a dev nightmare) But you know what? I don't care. On the days that I actually get to write software, I feel at one with the universe. It doesn't even matter what that software is for. I am certainly not saving the world or even working on cool stuff, that is unless you consider publishing Risk & Analytics data feeds to be cool (;D). I just love writing software and always have. I consider myself to be greatly blessed by my circumstances. I had a 10 year period where I played at being a team lead and a middle manager and absolutely hated it. Long story short: love being a senior dev. Hope to do it for as long as I can.

spike021 9y ago

If you don't mind me asking some questions: How do you feel about working in this industry? Have you moved jobs a lot? The reason I ask is my parents have been "working" or in their adulthood as parents/slightly before having children for roughly 30 years and for the most part have kept the same jobs. So as a new software engineer fresh out of school, they find the idea of needing to switch jobs for higher pay, new challenges, etc. to be a bit unbelievable and disagree that I should eventually do that.

cableshaft 9y ago
It's a different world nowadays. Switching jobs every 1-3 years is more the norm now than being a lifer (for most industries, not just software dev). They're probably coming from the perspective of the time they lived in, and don't realize that the world has changed quickly around them over the decades. And the younger you are, the more expected it is. My parents are the same way.
TomMarius 9y ago
Yes, switching jobs is necessary in IT most of the time. Some HR people will even see staying at one job for too long as weird.

eludwig 9y ago

So um, where do you work again? (jk) But seriously, great answer. I am in a similar situation time-wise. 30+ years as a dev. My situation is a little different. I am currently working at an international bank out of NYC. The people I work with are great, but the company situation is not that great. Poor, outdated equipment, horrifically restrictive IT security policies (no DLs from Github, or very limited, many legit dev sites blocked, horribly intrusive performance killing anti-virus software, etc, etc, the list goes on and on: basically a dev nightmare) But you know what? I don't care. On the days that I actually get to write software, I feel at one with the universe. It doesn't even matter what that software is for. I am certainly not saving the world or even working on cool stuff, that is unless you consider publishing Risk & Analytics data feeds to be cool (;D). I just love writing software and always have. I consider myself to be greatly blessed by my circumstances. I had a 10 year period where I played at being a team lead and a middle manager and absolutely hated it. Long story short: love being a senior dev. Hope to do it for as long as I can.