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Because we have the "benefit" of experience and thus, generally higher salaries. Many companies treat coders/developers as 100% fungible; any of them can do an

Because we have the "benefit" of experience and thus, generally higher salaries. Many companies treat coders/developers as 100% fungible; any of them can do anything any other can. It's just code, right? So get the cheap one instead of the expensive(r) one. It's the same mindset that thinks offshoring is a slam dunk, based solely on the cost.

dansingerman 16y ago
Agreed. Traditional big business usually sees software development as a commodity (and in many ways it often is) Hence, go for the cheapest supplier. Bleak as it is, at least I think you can contrast this with the fact that any talented innovative developer probably doesn't want to work as a programming drone in a big company as they get older.
famousactress 16y ago
I'm sure that's definitely a factor, but I think there are a number of other variables in play (perceived or real). I think there's a tendency to think that in a younger developer you might find more passion, optimism (or at least lack of cynicism), open-minded approaches to problem solving, etc. than in an older one. I think also compared to a number of other industries, the premium put on experience isn't always valued very highly. I think it's increasingly easy to look at successes from little companies full of scrappy recent graduates and wonder why you need someone with 10+ years on your team... For the record I've got 11+ or so years of experience and am rapidly approaching 'middle aged' :|
- Swizec 16y ago
  An important point to note here is that especially when it comes to programming, a recent grad != zero experience. Personally I'm not even a graduate yet (1.5 years to go -ish), but I can already cite 5 to 7 years of experience in the industry depending on how stringent you want to be and at least 12 years of general coding experience. I would wager a lot of those "scrappy young companies chock full of enthusiastic fresh graduates" were in a similar position with people who actually had a lot of experience despite being fresh grads.
  - famousactress 16y ago
    Oh, totally agree. Didn't mean to suggest that grads have no experience. Plenty of them have loads of great work under their belts by the time they leave school.
- michaelcampbell 16y ago
  You are correct on all counts, and I certainly didn't mean that the reason I gave was the only one. I think, in retrospect, I should have worded it differently. When I said "experience", I certainly meant what everyone thought it meant, but I think I also just meant more time on the job. More time working leads to higher salaries on average, even without "experience" coming into play.
pfedor 16y ago
To spin it the other way: In software engineering the compensation tends to be much more based on skills and less on seniority than in other fields (mostly because the skill is easier to demonstrate and test than in other fields). Therefore, more senior people, who expect a boost to the compensation comparable to the one other professionals get due to their seniority, often find trouble finding a job that would satisfy their expectations.

dansingerman 16y ago

Agreed. Traditional big business usually sees software development as a commodity (and in many ways it often is) Hence, go for the cheapest supplier. Bleak as it is, at least I think you can contrast this with the fact that any talented innovative developer probably doesn't want to work as a programming drone in a big company as they get older.

famousactress 16y ago

I'm sure that's definitely a factor, but I think there are a number of other variables in play (perceived or real). I think there's a tendency to think that in a younger developer you might find more passion, optimism (or at least lack of cynicism), open-minded approaches to problem solving, etc. than in an older one. I think also compared to a number of other industries, the premium put on experience isn't always valued very highly. I think it's increasingly easy to look at successes from little companies full of scrappy recent graduates and wonder why you need someone with 10+ years on your team... For the record I've got 11+ or so years of experience and am rapidly approaching 'middle aged' :|

Swizec 16y ago
An important point to note here is that especially when it comes to programming, a recent grad != zero experience. Personally I'm not even a graduate yet (1.5 years to go -ish), but I can already cite 5 to 7 years of experience in the industry depending on how stringent you want to be and at least 12 years of general coding experience. I would wager a lot of those "scrappy young companies chock full of enthusiastic fresh graduates" were in a similar position with people who actually had a lot of experience despite being fresh grads.
- famousactress 16y ago
  Oh, totally agree. Didn't mean to suggest that grads have no experience. Plenty of them have loads of great work under their belts by the time they leave school.
michaelcampbell 16y ago
You are correct on all counts, and I certainly didn't mean that the reason I gave was the only one. I think, in retrospect, I should have worded it differently. When I said "experience", I certainly meant what everyone thought it meant, but I think I also just meant more time on the job. More time working leads to higher salaries on average, even without "experience" coming into play.

pfedor 16y ago

To spin it the other way: In software engineering the compensation tends to be much more based on skills and less on seniority than in other fields (mostly because the skill is easier to demonstrate and test than in other fields). Therefore, more senior people, who expect a boost to the compensation comparable to the one other professionals get due to their seniority, often find trouble finding a job that would satisfy their expectations.