7 ms·

Programmers are 40 years old, should they retire

5 points by JC770 3y ago

I am a senior programmer who has just celebrated my 40th birthday, but I have lost my job. I have interviewed several companies this year but have not received an offer. Does no one hire programmers over the age of 40? 40 year old programmers have to retire?

tornato7 3y ago
I've worked with many excellent programmers over 40, some over 70. You might want to look for companies that are run by older folk, and maybe in more established companies. Anecdotally, I haven't seen a lot of 40+ engineers in Silicon Valley, but here in San Diego I've never met a Qualcomm engineer under 40. Maybe geography has something to do with it.
- JC770 3y ago
  Perhaps my expectations are too high, or there are issues with my interview skills. I think I need to improve on these
richliss 3y ago
It's not a straightforward question. 40-year old VBA developer? That's a tough one. 40-year old C++ developer who loves learning? Don't give up hope and maybe look at Rust. The future for 40-year old developers is to recognise that job certainty has gone, but opportunity is still there as long as you work hard. I genuinely think a lot of companies are going to realise in the next 18 months that ai generated code wasn't the silver bullet they thought.
666satanhimself 3y ago
[dead]
eschneider 3y ago
I'm in my mid-50s and still programming. I got laid off early in the year and didn't have too much trouble getting a new job. So yes, it's not Logan's Run for older programmers.
quantified 3y ago
Some do. Every one I've been hired to for the last 15 years certainly does, even series-B startups. I can't opine on what works and doesn't for finding a match, but trust me there are enough. The hiring process usually sucks, you'll need to do Leetcode because people don't know any better.
- JC770 3y ago
  In the past two years, I have been hesitant to accept opportunities from startups, as they have always been prone to bankruptcy.
scrapheap 3y ago
It's very hard to offer advice without knowing any details other than your age - being an older programmer does mean that you will need to make sure that you stand out from the younger programmers (i.e. those who are willing to work for a lot less and haven't yet learned to pace their work life so they don't burnout :) ) Find your unique selling points and try to get them across (as well as making sure you cover the other areas that all programmers will have in common). Also make sure to tailor your responses to the companies/posts your applying to/for.
BillyTheMage 3y ago
This is like those women who think that the moment they hit 30 years old, a switch flips and they are officially deemed old and unattractive. Stop putting stock into the idea that specific ages mean anything. It's a direct result of capitalist manipulation trying to subconsciously trick you into buying things.
MrGuts 3y ago
Are you joking? I was first hired as a software dev at age 57. People over age 40 have a secret superpower. It's called "attention span" Find out what industries and dev stacks are prevalent in your area. Work the meet-ups: show up, knock back a few beers, ask questions, find out who's doing what. Consider getting up to speed on an alternate dev stack, if need be. Another secret: 80% of hires are done end-run around HR. If they want you, they'll pull you through whatever process HR throws at them.
- shrimp_emoji 3y ago
  I didn't read the whole comment, but it made me feel very optimistic and good. <33
- JC770 3y ago
  Your feedback encouraged me, thank you!
simonblack 3y ago
Retire from companies, or retire from programming? Many of us face changes in our 40s and we think that 'My life is over at 40. How ever will I start again?'. Quite often those changes are for the best. You may meet the love of your life when you finally part from your first wife. You may find the best programming company in the world when you finally leave that first dead-end job. It all depends on your point of view: run away or look ahead? By the way I'm just 2 years off 80. I still enjoy programming. But now I program for myself, not a boss.
- JC770 3y ago
  But now I program for myself, not a boss. This is the best state, I hope to earn enough money before the age of 55 and have the same state as you
sn9 3y ago
Where are you interviewing? Like geographically? What's your the range of TC you're willing to accept?

5 points by JC770 3y ago

tornato7 3y ago

I've worked with many excellent programmers over 40, some over 70. You might want to look for companies that are run by older folk, and maybe in more established companies. Anecdotally, I haven't seen a lot of 40+ engineers in Silicon Valley, but here in San Diego I've never met a Qualcomm engineer under 40. Maybe geography has something to do with it.

JC770 3y ago
Perhaps my expectations are too high, or there are issues with my interview skills. I think I need to improve on these

richliss 3y ago

It's not a straightforward question. 40-year old VBA developer? That's a tough one. 40-year old C++ developer who loves learning? Don't give up hope and maybe look at Rust. The future for 40-year old developers is to recognise that job certainty has gone, but opportunity is still there as long as you work hard. I genuinely think a lot of companies are going to realise in the next 18 months that ai generated code wasn't the silver bullet they thought.

666satanhimself 3y ago

[dead]

eschneider 3y ago

I'm in my mid-50s and still programming. I got laid off early in the year and didn't have too much trouble getting a new job. So yes, it's not Logan's Run for older programmers.

quantified 3y ago

Some do. Every one I've been hired to for the last 15 years certainly does, even series-B startups. I can't opine on what works and doesn't for finding a match, but trust me there are enough. The hiring process usually sucks, you'll need to do Leetcode because people don't know any better.

JC770 3y ago
In the past two years, I have been hesitant to accept opportunities from startups, as they have always been prone to bankruptcy.

scrapheap 3y ago

It's very hard to offer advice without knowing any details other than your age - being an older programmer does mean that you will need to make sure that you stand out from the younger programmers (i.e. those who are willing to work for a lot less and haven't yet learned to pace their work life so they don't burnout :) ) Find your unique selling points and try to get them across (as well as making sure you cover the other areas that all programmers will have in common). Also make sure to tailor your responses to the companies/posts your applying to/for.

BillyTheMage 3y ago

This is like those women who think that the moment they hit 30 years old, a switch flips and they are officially deemed old and unattractive. Stop putting stock into the idea that specific ages mean anything. It's a direct result of capitalist manipulation trying to subconsciously trick you into buying things.

MrGuts 3y ago

Are you joking? I was first hired as a software dev at age 57. People over age 40 have a secret superpower. It's called "attention span" Find out what industries and dev stacks are prevalent in your area. Work the meet-ups: show up, knock back a few beers, ask questions, find out who's doing what. Consider getting up to speed on an alternate dev stack, if need be. Another secret: 80% of hires are done end-run around HR. If they want you, they'll pull you through whatever process HR throws at them.

shrimp_emoji 3y ago
I didn't read the whole comment, but it made me feel very optimistic and good. <33
JC770 3y ago
Your feedback encouraged me, thank you!

simonblack 3y ago

Retire from companies, or retire from programming? Many of us face changes in our 40s and we think that 'My life is over at 40. How ever will I start again?'. Quite often those changes are for the best. You may meet the love of your life when you finally part from your first wife. You may find the best programming company in the world when you finally leave that first dead-end job. It all depends on your point of view: run away or look ahead? By the way I'm just 2 years off 80. I still enjoy programming. But now I program for myself, not a boss.

JC770 3y ago
But now I program for myself, not a boss. This is the best state, I hope to earn enough money before the age of 55 and have the same state as you

sn9 3y ago

Where are you interviewing? Like geographically? What's your the range of TC you're willing to accept?