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60 year old dev here. I have been living on the cutting edge of tech for 30 years, and I have many scars to prove it. New is usually not better if you actually

60 year old dev here. I have been living on the cutting edge of tech for 30 years, and I have many scars to prove it. New is usually not better if you actually want scalable, maintainable, and monetizable results. I disagree that many area's of my knowledge has a half life. My deep understanding of network protocols hasn't aged. My deep understanding of SQL and NoSQL databases hasn't aged. The principles of distributed systems haven't changed, but they have been given more tools. When, where, and how to optimize hasn't changed. Debugging, naming, and design whether it be functional or OO hasn't changed. Sure there are new tools and methods, but I say the fundamentals are the same.

FussyZeus 9y ago
More to the point, in my experience training more than a few college grad devs, what I look for in hiring isn't any particular language or technology, I look for someone who knows how to think like a programmer. That's something incredibly hard to teach, but if you can find someone who already has the thought processes in place for how to turn intent into code, that's 90% of your training done right there, and the remainder can happen largely with googling, stack overflow, and good code review from more experienced devs. I'm not knocking coding bootcamps or colleges, I've had hires from both. I'm moreso saying that the idea that a programmers skills are isolated to the code they currently can write is a little shortsighted.
SmellTheGlove 9y ago
> Sure there are new tools and methods, but I say the fundamentals are the same. Absolutely. Folks need to get their heads around software engineering as a practiced discipline. Your education is about the fundamentals of how you think and approach, even if the tools themselves change over time.
ataturk 9y ago
Oh man, how do you even do it? I'm 44 and looking for the door! My motivation to put up with the same bs year in and year out isn't there anymore. The pay isn't worth it, either--if I could find some "no load" type role at half my pay I'd be gone tomorrow. It doesn't help my outlook that sites like this limit me to only 2 comments per hour because of the way I cast this whole industry in such an unfavorable light. Dog eat dog.
pizza234 9y ago
This is a sensible perspective, but the job market is actually the opposite of sensible (in a way). Paradoxically, the (again, sensible) attitude that fundamentals are the same with a different coating, will distantiate one from chasing the latest fads... which is actually what the [majority of the] market looks for.
- user5994461 9y ago
  The job market for database and networking skills is pretty different than the market for web apps. There are places where you get a job because you want to rewrite everything, and places where you get a job because you didn't suggest to rewrite anything.
- BatFastard 9y ago
  I agree on the market being crazy. Does any employer in the world interview people with real world skills?

FussyZeus 9y ago

More to the point, in my experience training more than a few college grad devs, what I look for in hiring isn't any particular language or technology, I look for someone who knows how to think like a programmer. That's something incredibly hard to teach, but if you can find someone who already has the thought processes in place for how to turn intent into code, that's 90% of your training done right there, and the remainder can happen largely with googling, stack overflow, and good code review from more experienced devs. I'm not knocking coding bootcamps or colleges, I've had hires from both. I'm moreso saying that the idea that a programmers skills are isolated to the code they currently can write is a little shortsighted.

SmellTheGlove 9y ago

> Sure there are new tools and methods, but I say the fundamentals are the same. Absolutely. Folks need to get their heads around software engineering as a practiced discipline. Your education is about the fundamentals of how you think and approach, even if the tools themselves change over time.

ataturk 9y ago

Oh man, how do you even do it? I'm 44 and looking for the door! My motivation to put up with the same bs year in and year out isn't there anymore. The pay isn't worth it, either--if I could find some "no load" type role at half my pay I'd be gone tomorrow. It doesn't help my outlook that sites like this limit me to only 2 comments per hour because of the way I cast this whole industry in such an unfavorable light. Dog eat dog.

pizza234 9y ago

This is a sensible perspective, but the job market is actually the opposite of sensible (in a way). Paradoxically, the (again, sensible) attitude that fundamentals are the same with a different coating, will distantiate one from chasing the latest fads... which is actually what the [majority of the] market looks for.

user5994461 9y ago
The job market for database and networking skills is pretty different than the market for web apps. There are places where you get a job because you want to rewrite everything, and places where you get a job because you didn't suggest to rewrite anything.
BatFastard 9y ago
I agree on the market being crazy. Does any employer in the world interview people with real world skills?