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I think there are two explanations. 1) One explanation is that, often unexperienced people start doing programming, start looking for a job, but after 1 or 2 y

by TeeWEE 12y ago

I think there are two explanations. 1) One explanation is that, often unexperienced people start doing programming, start looking for a job, but after 1 or 2 years, they just know its not their cup of thee. Lots of people try learning programming themselves. And while it may work out ofr a lot of them. I think there is also a huge dropoff. During my computerscience study at university there was almost 50% dropoff after 2 years. Only the die-hards survive. 2) A lot more people are learning to program these days. 10 years ago, there were a lot less people doing programming. That's why you are seeing the curve.

hjnilsson 12y ago
You forgot: 3) People with 10+ years experience generally don't go out looking for work and applying for interviews. By then you have enough connections that if you want to change job, you'll find it through old colleagues. Not by shopping around like younger devs. This applies to most all professional occupations, not just Software Engineering. If you look at people applying for positions in economics / law you'll see a similar graph.
- vonmoltke 12y ago
  This perception has really been hurting me, I think. Nearly all of my professional connections are lifers at my original employer, and a significant number of them are in the 75% group mentioned in Ed's post at the top.
  - danielweber 12y ago
    I hear you. I moved from Boston to Charlotte 10 years ago for family, and I've had a hard time building a local network because of spending (too) many years at one employer here. I have a very nice network back in Boston, but my local one is still much weaker. Here's something you can try: what do you wish you did 5 years ago (that you could have done with your knowledge at the time)? Now, imagine what you in 5 years will want the you of today to do. Go attend some local conferences or meetups. If you have trouble making connections quickly, prefer repeated events.
- logfromblammo 12y ago
  This is overwhelmingly because the resume and interview route to acquiring a new job is so incredibly worthless and inefficient. I'm actually surprised that I have found so many jobs that way, compared to how easy it was just knowing some people who already work at the company who is hiring. I still had to interview, though--one interview with the hiring manager and her boss that took less than an hour. The only problem is that very few of my old colleagues have connections to any of the jobs that I might actually want. So now the standard response I get is "we decided to hire someone that was a better fit for us" or "we decided not to fill the position at this time". If you can't read the subtext, that means "you're too old (and therefore expensive)" or "we were trying to import someone cheaply, and your application screwed that up."

by TeeWEE 12y ago

hjnilsson 12y ago

You forgot: 3) People with 10+ years experience generally don't go out looking for work and applying for interviews. By then you have enough connections that if you want to change job, you'll find it through old colleagues. Not by shopping around like younger devs. This applies to most all professional occupations, not just Software Engineering. If you look at people applying for positions in economics / law you'll see a similar graph.

vonmoltke 12y ago
This perception has really been hurting me, I think. Nearly all of my professional connections are lifers at my original employer, and a significant number of them are in the 75% group mentioned in Ed's post at the top.
- danielweber 12y ago
  I hear you. I moved from Boston to Charlotte 10 years ago for family, and I've had a hard time building a local network because of spending (too) many years at one employer here. I have a very nice network back in Boston, but my local one is still much weaker. Here's something you can try: what do you wish you did 5 years ago (that you could have done with your knowledge at the time)? Now, imagine what you in 5 years will want the you of today to do. Go attend some local conferences or meetups. If you have trouble making connections quickly, prefer repeated events.
logfromblammo 12y ago
This is overwhelmingly because the resume and interview route to acquiring a new job is so incredibly worthless and inefficient. I'm actually surprised that I have found so many jobs that way, compared to how easy it was just knowing some people who already work at the company who is hiring. I still had to interview, though--one interview with the hiring manager and her boss that took less than an hour. The only problem is that very few of my old colleagues have connections to any of the jobs that I might actually want. So now the standard response I get is "we decided to hire someone that was a better fit for us" or "we decided not to fill the position at this time". If you can't read the subtext, that means "you're too old (and therefore expensive)" or "we were trying to import someone cheaply, and your application screwed that up."