

Ask HN: What happens when programmer get old - bonsai

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.
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smoyer
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.

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ianpurton
"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.

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euroclydon
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.

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chrisbennet
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).

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

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

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jamesbritt
Define "old." 30? 75?

~~~
bonsai
40+

~~~
martin1b
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

