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Ask HN: Former devs who can't get a job, what did you end up doing for work?

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Re: Ask HN: Former devs who can't get a job, what did you end up doing for work?

#101

Post by CoastalCoder »

jamesrr39 wrote: post #19
popularrecluse wrote: post #16

I never stopped developing. After getting laid off in April 2023 after 13 years as first a full stack then mobile dev, I just started working on things that interested me. I did apply and interview a few times, but I started to realize that pushing 50 and being as cynical as I now am, I'm pretty much unemployable as an IC. So I released my application to the App Store this month, and while savings are dwindling, thin…

I have heard this a few times from different people/places, but why is it the case that at 50+ it is harder to find work? Assuming a regular retirement age, there are still many more years left in the career than a typical tech employment lasts.

Speaking only for myself:

- Minor health issues accumulate and become a distraction. Especially insomnia.

- Having worked on many projects and technologies that went nowhere, my enthusiasm for the work is diminished, making me less focused.

I decided to return to the last work that I found meaningful, which was as a software developer in the U.S. civil service.

I think this was the right move, although Trump and Musk are doing their very best to make me question that.

Re: Ask HN: Former devs who can't get a job, what did you end up doing for work?

#102

Post by nobodyandproud »

popularrecluse wrote: post #16

I never stopped developing. After getting laid off in April 2023 after 13 years as first a full stack then mobile dev, I just started working on things that interested me. I did apply and interview a few times, but I started to realize that pushing 50 and being as cynical as I now am, I'm pretty much unemployable as an IC. So I released my application to the App Store this month, and while savings are dwindling, thin…

This is a good time to link something encouraging: https://www.wsj.com/business/entrepreneurship/the-investor-b...

Most successful businesses and ventures tend to be at our age, and even someone like myself have experienced why.

Re: Ask HN: Former devs who can't get a job, what did you end up doing for work?

#103

Post by xnx »

cmrdporcupine wrote: post #72
ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Meanwhile I can pump out hundreds of lines a weekend on my own free software projects and actually feel like I'm getting things done. I can relate. It's sort of "Hell is other people." I work very effectively on my own, but the scope is limited. Big things require teams. I realize how fortunate I am, that I could afford to retire. I don't have as much money as I would, with another ten years under my belt, but I sh…

When I left Google 3+ years ago I was at first delighted to find I still really loved writing code, because I felt like work had drained it out of me. And then, yes, I found, wait, I actually need to work in a team because like you say there's a limit to how far you can get by yourself. To do big things you need more people. So I gave up on my fantasy of solo working or somehow retiring, and returned to work. Only to…

AI coding tools are rapidly changing what a single person can accomplish.

Re: Ask HN: Former devs who can't get a job, what did you end up doing for work?

#105

Post by whattheheckheck »

cmrdporcupine wrote: post #54
beryilma wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> but I started to realize that pushing 50 and being as cynical as I now am, I'm pretty much unemployable as an IC. Well that's me. My theory is that it is not age that makes one unemployable in the software industry, but the unwillingness to put up with shit cooked up by bunch of 25 year old CEOs, CTOs, and the like.

I'm the same age, and I'm pretty sure the industry has substantially changed, not just me. EDIT: and by changed, I don't mean improved. I was a huge advocate of agile and eXtreme Programming early in my career, and I even worked in shops where it seemed to be really having good results. Now I see everyone using SCRUM and... it's garbage and I want to gouge my eyes out in the meetings. I see a lot of talking but not a…

Is there any antidote to needless complexity? How can people effectively classify it without experience?

Re: Ask HN: Former devs who can't get a job, what did you end up doing for work?

#106

Post by cmrdporcupine »

whattheheckheck wrote: post #105
cmrdporcupine wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm the same age, and I'm pretty sure the industry has substantially changed, not just me. EDIT: and by changed, I don't mean improved. I was a huge advocate of agile and eXtreme Programming early in my career, and I even worked in shops where it seemed to be really having good results. Now I see everyone using SCRUM and... it's garbage and I want to gouge my eyes out in the meetings. I see a lot of talking but not a…

Is there any antidote to needless complexity? How can people effectively classify it without experience?

There are many sources of complexity, and avoiding it is the hardest problem in software engineering.

I recommend the first half of the Out Of The Tarpit paper.

https://curtclifton.net/papers/MoseleyMarks06a.pdf

Re: Ask HN: Former devs who can't get a job, what did you end up doing for work?

#107

Post by Gnarl »

rozab wrote: post #98
Gnarl wrote: post #89

Although I love IT and I've been a Java consultant for 20+ years, I'm getting out because the IT business has become absurd . I'm 51 now. Instead I've certified as an Auriculotherapist (that's fancy speak for ear-acupuncture). I chance discovered auriculotherapy about 10 years ago by its potential to reduce stress by modulating the nervous system. And its been my passion since. The ear is way more than some funny car…

When the AI startup culture gets so snake-oily people are jumping ship to practice ear acupuncture, that's when we should be worried

@rozab Made me laugh, though I can't quite figure out whether you're bashing AI-startups, ear-acupuncture or both ;D

Re: Ask HN: Former devs who can't get a job, what did you end up doing for work?

#108

Post by cmrdporcupine »

xnx wrote: post #103
cmrdporcupine wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I left Google 3+ years ago I was at first delighted to find I still really loved writing code, because I felt like work had drained it out of me. And then, yes, I found, wait, I actually need to work in a team because like you say there's a limit to how far you can get by yourself. To do big things you need more people. So I gave up on my fantasy of solo working or somehow retiring, and returned to work. Only to…

AI coding tools are rapidly changing what a single person can accomplish.

Where I ran up against the limits was not in coding tasks. Programming is "easy"

It's UX & UI design, documentation, product specification, promotion.

I'm unsurprisingly just not that good at these things, but also don't really like to do them. And missed having team members who specialized in them.

Re: Ask HN: Former devs who can't get a job, what did you end up doing for work?

#109

Post by neverartful »

bertjk wrote: post #6
anonzzzies wrote: post #2

Doing up houses, doing electrics for houses in the town and making wooden doors. I do it for fun, but the latter two would make me bank; there is a massive shortage, most people suck and even when paid well they don't turn up anyway as someone pays more.

Did you need licensing / training to take on electrical work? Do you market yourself as an electrician or more just a handyman that does minor electric jobs?

In the US the laws vary considerably by state on what electrical (and plumbing) one is allowed to do without a license.

Re: Ask HN: Former devs who can't get a job, what did you end up doing for work?

#110

Post by neverartful »

anonzzzies wrote: post #2

Doing up houses, doing electrics for houses in the town and making wooden doors. I do it for fun, but the latter two would make me bank; there is a massive shortage, most people suck and even when paid well they don't turn up anyway as someone pays more.

I voluntarily left the corporate world in spring of 2024. I already had a part-time handyman business going so I just took it full-time. I also started developing my own software product (soon to be released).
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