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Ask HN: What happens when programmer get old

11 points by bonsai 15y ago

What happens to developers who get old. Some of them become team leaders, project managers etc. But that is maybe 10% of all developers from same generation.

jamesbritt 15y ago
Define "old." 30? 75?
- bonsai 15y ago
  40+
  - martin1b 15y ago
    If 40 is when you get old, seems like we're getting 'old' sooner and retire later. If that's the case, you're 'old' over 50% of the time you're in the workforce. :p
whiterabbit 15y ago
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nv0Oa8fZ26E#t=01m52s http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nv0Oa8fZ26E#t=01m52s
smoyer 15y ago
40+ is old? I still feel like a kid! I'm 47 and generally code six days a week. I've done' the management ascendancy a couple times and have worked for (or co-founded) four start-ups and I worked for one large company. I've kept my skills up-to-date and now command a very high salary. So with my mini-bio out of the way, I'll caveat my answer a bit ... I think a true programmer loves what they do and wouldn't be satisfied with any other role. So I've pushed my way back into development and I'll stay here until I die (I can't imagine retiring). I think the other class of programmers are people that got into the craft because they heard it was a well-paid gig, and thought that their college provided all the education they'll ever need ... they're generally gone in under ten years. Either into management or other careers altogether.
euroclydon 15y ago
Most developers will not launch a startup and make a bunch of money, so if you are young and wish to mitigate the risks of a downward career trajectory, here are a few suggestions off the top of my head: 1) Learn a domain, one with staying power. 2) Stay in shape. For me, this means limiting how much I eat. I find that consuming a minimal amount of carbs/sugars totally eliminates the ups and downs in energy levels throughout the day, and makes me feel as ready to go at 4PM as I do at 9AM. 3) Enjoy yourself. There are thousands of domains for programmers. Find one where you like the culture and work. 4) Consider moving away from the coasts. The concentration of competent developers is much lower in the interior of the country. (Just 100 miles can make a big difference). 5) Don't go into management, unless you really enjoy it. And if you do become a manager, hack management.
abbasmehdi 15y ago
One of the most inspiring people on HN, edw519, is still hands-on @ 55.
ianpurton 15y ago
"What happens to developers who get old" We look at the young kids and think "What chance have they got". We've had decades to assimilate Basic (C64), Assembly (6502, 68000 and Z80), C, Pascal, Serial Comms, Linux, Windows, X, ASN.1, C++, STL, OO, Patterns, UTF-8, Java, Lisp, Ruby, CSS, SQL, HTML, XML , XSL, XPATH, JSON, Node.js, Punch Cards, Boost and all the other stuff I've forgotten. And guess what, once you've been to about 20 interviews all the questions are the same. So you better hope you don't come up against us.
chrisbennet 15y ago
I think the developers who are more like musicians [ever hear of a retired musician?] keep at until they go blind. I work in a 2 developer shop and the "kid" is in his early 40's, I'm 49 and the contractor we have in once in a while has white hair and hearing aids (he's awesome btw).

11 points by bonsai 15y ago

What happens to developers who get old. Some of them become team leaders, project managers etc. But that is maybe 10% of all developers from same generation.

jamesbritt 15y ago

Define "old." 30? 75?

bonsai 15y ago
40+
- martin1b 15y ago
  If 40 is when you get old, seems like we're getting 'old' sooner and retire later. If that's the case, you're 'old' over 50% of the time you're in the workforce. :p

whiterabbit 15y ago

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nv0Oa8fZ26E#t=01m52s http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nv0Oa8fZ26E#t=01m52s

smoyer 15y ago

40+ is old? I still feel like a kid! I'm 47 and generally code six days a week. I've done' the management ascendancy a couple times and have worked for (or co-founded) four start-ups and I worked for one large company. I've kept my skills up-to-date and now command a very high salary. So with my mini-bio out of the way, I'll caveat my answer a bit ... I think a true programmer loves what they do and wouldn't be satisfied with any other role. So I've pushed my way back into development and I'll stay here until I die (I can't imagine retiring). I think the other class of programmers are people that got into the craft because they heard it was a well-paid gig, and thought that their college provided all the education they'll ever need ... they're generally gone in under ten years. Either into management or other careers altogether.

euroclydon 15y ago

Most developers will not launch a startup and make a bunch of money, so if you are young and wish to mitigate the risks of a downward career trajectory, here are a few suggestions off the top of my head: 1) Learn a domain, one with staying power. 2) Stay in shape. For me, this means limiting how much I eat. I find that consuming a minimal amount of carbs/sugars totally eliminates the ups and downs in energy levels throughout the day, and makes me feel as ready to go at 4PM as I do at 9AM. 3) Enjoy yourself. There are thousands of domains for programmers. Find one where you like the culture and work. 4) Consider moving away from the coasts. The concentration of competent developers is much lower in the interior of the country. (Just 100 miles can make a big difference). 5) Don't go into management, unless you really enjoy it. And if you do become a manager, hack management.

abbasmehdi 15y ago

One of the most inspiring people on HN, edw519, is still hands-on @ 55.

ianpurton 15y ago

"What happens to developers who get old" We look at the young kids and think "What chance have they got". We've had decades to assimilate Basic (C64), Assembly (6502, 68000 and Z80), C, Pascal, Serial Comms, Linux, Windows, X, ASN.1, C++, STL, OO, Patterns, UTF-8, Java, Lisp, Ruby, CSS, SQL, HTML, XML , XSL, XPATH, JSON, Node.js, Punch Cards, Boost and all the other stuff I've forgotten. And guess what, once you've been to about 20 interviews all the questions are the same. So you better hope you don't come up against us.

chrisbennet 15y ago

I think the developers who are more like musicians [ever hear of a retired musician?] keep at until they go blind. I work in a 2 developer shop and the "kid" is in his early 40's, I'm 49 and the contractor we have in once in a while has white hair and hearing aids (he's awesome btw).