5 ms·

22 and 4-5 years into my career. I can only hazard a guess at what I'll be doing in 20 years.

by alnayyir 16y ago

wookiehangover 16y ago
worrying about the end of unix time ;)
keltex 16y ago
If you're happy doing what you're doing now, then my guess is the same thing. Like me. For over 20 years.
- alnayyir 16y ago
  >If you're happy doing what you're doing now Immeasurably. >Like me. For over 20 years. Fair chance I'd be retired by then unless I had a nasty divorce or something. But who knows?
  - jaxn 16y ago
    ah the idealism of youth... Possibly. The odds are pretty bad for retirement at 40 though. Seems to be those who are successful / lucky enough to exit (making an assumption about your retirement plan), are also the kind of people that tend to just start another company or be an involved smart-money investor. I used to think I would retire. I have enough mostly-passive income to live on, but here I am doing another startup. YMMV
    - alnayyir 16y ago
      Not really idealism. When you get an engineer's salary and sock away ~60-70% of it, your options are pretty rosy. The entrepreneurial bug and divorce are the only things I foresee really jeopardizing that. That or being seriously fertile. Hard tellin'. I'll be happy either way, and regardless of whether or not I'm getting paid, I'll code 'til I die.
      - jaxn 16y ago
        I am not saying you won't be financially able to retire. The money is almost the easy part.
        alnayyir 16y ago
        I think family or a startup would be the most likely factors to keep me out of retirement. In reality, retirement would just mean being much choosier about my projects and spending more time on open source. I grok ya.
agentultra 16y ago
22 and a career? Wow. Programming was still a hobby for me at that point. Still is. Sometimes wish I didn't spoil it by making it a career. ;) I feel old now. I started a record label at 22 and wanted to do nothing but music and party. Didn't get a "career" until a couple of years later when my record label burnt out and the parties stopped... Just remember to live a little. ;)
- TimothyBurgess 16y ago
  We seem to have a bit in common! I'm 23 now, and up until last July I was a professional touring musician (drummer!)... During college my band signed to Victory Records. We all decided to finish up college and began touring immediately after we graduated. (Computer Engineer here...) I had quite a few people tell me I was making a big mistake continuing with the band and not pursuing a career with my degree... but I honestly believe I learned more on the road (about the world in general) than I would have during that same amount of time in an office. I had a lot of fun doing it too... it was an opportunity I'm very glad I didn't give up. I left the band for personal reasons/differences and have been working on my startup day-in, day-out ever since. My startup is actually centered around touring bands and their management/labels/booking. You can check it out at http://www.rela.cc http://www.rela.cc if you want. It's actually days away from officially launching... I just need to add the ~30-second ads for bands and management, and make a few changes to the video tutorial. So yeah... have fun while you can people and don't pass up once in a lifetime opportunities no matter your age! Maybe if my startup sustains me I'll be able to play music on the road again.
  - angelod101 16y ago
    What band?
    - TimothyBurgess 16y ago
      A Hero A Fake I was in it for the music (looove to drum!) and possibly being a positive influence... let's just say the rest of the guys had other motives. :|
cambriar 16y ago
You're the man. I'm also 22 and 1 year away from a BS.
- alnayyir 16y ago
  Thanks, but dropping out of school and going into poverty in extremis before getting my career together wasn't my first plan. Many many months of ramen and green tea. Many...many months.
i386 16y ago
23 here and about 6 years in. I often wonder what I'll be doing too when I look back on it. Likely, I won't be hacking more.

22 and 4-5 years into my career. I can only hazard a guess at what I'll be doing in 20 years.

wookiehangover 16y ago

worrying about the end of unix time ;)

keltex 16y ago

If you're happy doing what you're doing now, then my guess is the same thing. Like me. For over 20 years.

alnayyir 16y ago
>If you're happy doing what you're doing now Immeasurably. >Like me. For over 20 years. Fair chance I'd be retired by then unless I had a nasty divorce or something. But who knows?
- jaxn 16y ago
  ah the idealism of youth... Possibly. The odds are pretty bad for retirement at 40 though. Seems to be those who are successful / lucky enough to exit (making an assumption about your retirement plan), are also the kind of people that tend to just start another company or be an involved smart-money investor. I used to think I would retire. I have enough mostly-passive income to live on, but here I am doing another startup. YMMV
  - alnayyir 16y ago
    Not really idealism. When you get an engineer's salary and sock away ~60-70% of it, your options are pretty rosy. The entrepreneurial bug and divorce are the only things I foresee really jeopardizing that. That or being seriously fertile. Hard tellin'. I'll be happy either way, and regardless of whether or not I'm getting paid, I'll code 'til I die.
    - jaxn 16y ago
      I am not saying you won't be financially able to retire. The money is almost the easy part.
      - alnayyir 16y ago
        I think family or a startup would be the most likely factors to keep me out of retirement. In reality, retirement would just mean being much choosier about my projects and spending more time on open source. I grok ya.

agentultra 16y ago

22 and a career? Wow. Programming was still a hobby for me at that point. Still is. Sometimes wish I didn't spoil it by making it a career. ;) I feel old now. I started a record label at 22 and wanted to do nothing but music and party. Didn't get a "career" until a couple of years later when my record label burnt out and the parties stopped... Just remember to live a little. ;)

TimothyBurgess 16y ago
We seem to have a bit in common! I'm 23 now, and up until last July I was a professional touring musician (drummer!)... During college my band signed to Victory Records. We all decided to finish up college and began touring immediately after we graduated. (Computer Engineer here...) I had quite a few people tell me I was making a big mistake continuing with the band and not pursuing a career with my degree... but I honestly believe I learned more on the road (about the world in general) than I would have during that same amount of time in an office. I had a lot of fun doing it too... it was an opportunity I'm very glad I didn't give up. I left the band for personal reasons/differences and have been working on my startup day-in, day-out ever since. My startup is actually centered around touring bands and their management/labels/booking. You can check it out at http://www.rela.cc http://www.rela.cc if you want. It's actually days away from officially launching... I just need to add the ~30-second ads for bands and management, and make a few changes to the video tutorial. So yeah... have fun while you can people and don't pass up once in a lifetime opportunities no matter your age! Maybe if my startup sustains me I'll be able to play music on the road again.
- angelod101 16y ago
  What band?
  - TimothyBurgess 16y ago
    A Hero A Fake I was in it for the music (looove to drum!) and possibly being a positive influence... let's just say the rest of the guys had other motives. :|

cambriar 16y ago

You're the man. I'm also 22 and 1 year away from a BS.

alnayyir 16y ago
Thanks, but dropping out of school and going into poverty in extremis before getting my career together wasn't my first plan. Many many months of ramen and green tea. Many...many months.

i386 16y ago

23 here and about 6 years in. I often wonder what I'll be doing too when I look back on it. Likely, I won't be hacking more.