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Ask HN: Is programming a “young person's game”?

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Re: Ask HN: Is programming a “young person's game”?

#131

Post by mythhouse »

Barrin92 wrote: post #130
mythhouse wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> he maturity to make decisions based on what you're genuinely passionate about. I make decisions based on whats best for my family. I want to make maximum amount of money for my labor. There is nothing wrong with comparing yourself with your peers. I actually find "follow your passion" advice incredibly toxic and anxiety inducing. No one is really passionate about writing enterprise code. I am talking about just reg…

it's toxic advice if you give it to a broke twenty something. When you're on stable footing and have your needs covered money is supposed to afford you the freedom to actually make your own choices about things you care. In my family the idea has always been, money is necessary but being happy what you work on is more important both for you and your relationships. If you're making 6-12x the national mean you're liter…

Agreed but You still haven't explained why I should be choosing a lesser paying option between the two ( coding vs management). Whats the logic here?

Are sure seriously suggesting average big corp programmer is it for passion?

Again, there is nothing wrong with comparing yourself to your peers. Its immature to have an adverse reaction to it. Comparison is like A/B testing for your life that helps you course correct.

Re: Ask HN: Is programming a “young person's game”?

#132

Post by dev_0 »

thiago_fm wrote: post #24

I'm 34 and I just keep improving, coding since 10. The only thing you really need in this field is desire for constant improvement. And I'm not saying for you to study everyday, I'm saying that you should have that goal to every once in a while, could be weekly or even monthly, to look up something new. Be open also for changes, we went from desktop applications to the web. Learn the technologies involved. You need p…

No post body was provided.

Re: Ask HN: Is programming a “young person's game”?

#133

Post by Barrin92 »

mythhouse wrote: post #131
Barrin92 wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

it's toxic advice if you give it to a broke twenty something. When you're on stable footing and have your needs covered money is supposed to afford you the freedom to actually make your own choices about things you care. In my family the idea has always been, money is necessary but being happy what you work on is more important both for you and your relationships. If you're making 6-12x the national mean you're liter…

Agreed but You still haven't explained why I should be choosing a lesser paying option between the two ( coding vs management). Whats the logic here? Are sure seriously suggesting average big corp programmer is it for passion? Again, there is nothing wrong with comparing yourself to your peers. Its immature to have an adverse reaction to it. Comparison is like A/B testing for your life that helps you course correct.

>why I should be choosing a lesser paying option between the two

because you enjoy coding more than managing, if you don't then you obviously shouldn't. But quite a few people do enjoy programming and give it up due to the kind of pressures or comparisons we're talking about here in the thread for mostly lame reasons.

And I don't think having an adverse reaction to peer comparison is immature. These days at big companies in tech in particular group think is incredibly strong. Being headstrong and not making decisions based on what's popular in your in group is a good thing. You can course correct but do it because of your own needs, not others. A/B testing is appropriate for products, not the lives of individuals.

Re: Ask HN: Is programming a “young person's game”?

#134

Post by jfrbfbreudh »

Barrin92 wrote: post #133
mythhouse wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed but You still haven't explained why I should be choosing a lesser paying option between the two ( coding vs management). Whats the logic here? Are sure seriously suggesting average big corp programmer is it for passion? Again, there is nothing wrong with comparing yourself to your peers. Its immature to have an adverse reaction to it. Comparison is like A/B testing for your life that helps you course correct.

>why I should be choosing a lesser paying option between the two because you enjoy coding more than managing, if you don't then you obviously shouldn't. But quite a few people do enjoy programming and give it up due to the kind of pressures or comparisons we're talking about here in the thread for mostly lame reasons. And I don't think having an adverse reaction to peer comparison is immature. These days at big compa…

I shoot for high compensation because what I really enjoy more than coding or managing is not working at all.

Re: Ask HN: Is programming a “young person's game”?

#135

Post by sirsinsalot »

jart wrote: post #120
sirsinsalot wrote: post #89

I'm 35, and i've done A LOT of tech hiring. I've witnessed first-hand other managers making comments about "older" coders such as "well, do we think they're going to be adapable?" or "Is it a good culture fit?" These questions are always thinly veiled ageism. Regardless of age, some people become set in their ways. With age, this becomes more apparent and noticeable because people are looking for it. Sometimes being…

It shows a lack of respect to call someone set in their ways, because no rational person wants to abandon their advantage to follow the vogue trends of the younger generation. It's basically like resetting your experience points back to zero. If you can't use someone for the coding craft they actually have, then you're leaving them with just soft skills and computer science judgement, in which case they'd be better s…

I've worked with people "set in their ways", and while I am empathic towards the human causes of this, it does disrupt work.

On-boarding someone who becomes visibly angry with processes, tools and approaches they're not familiar with due to nothing but stubbornness and fear, is difficult.

I also made the distinction between this and ignoring rubbish trends as a specific point.

As I said, this trait isn't causally linked with age, it is correlated in my experience. This is why, all of us, must ensure we stay plastic as we age.

Re: Ask HN: Is programming a “young person's game”?

#136

Post by chunk_waffle »

Not at all. Software is a tool to solve problems. There are plenty of domains where programming is just various types of problem solving, shuffling and moving data from point A to point B and the like. Sure there are domains that are deeply steeped in algorithms and stuff where you really need a CS degree but there's plenty of places where you don't need that at all.

Re: Ask HN: Is programming a “young person's game”?

#137

Post by AnimalMuppet »

Head-down cranking out the code till all hours, day after day, may be a young person's game. Older people learn to operate differently - to think more, and to code more efficiently rather than more energetically. They can be at least as productive as the young, but they do it differently.

Re: Ask HN: Is programming a “young person's game”?

#138

Post by mooreds »

There's programming and then there's software development, which encompasses so much more than programming.

I'd argue that programming (hacking on code) is probably a young person's game, but that software development is not. The main reason isn't that young people are smarter or quicker, it's that they are cheaper (in general). Other parts of software development (requirements, leading teams, owning delivery) are higher leverage and so can handle higher priced older employees (again, in general).

This applies to the vast majority of code I've seen in my decades. Rarely was the brilliance of one developer the critical factor in making or breaking a project.

Re: Ask HN: Is programming a “young person's game”?

#140

Post by flashgordon »

So there is "programming". And then there is software engineer at big cos - "The Job". Programming is about building and I personally feel age is not a barrier. I still code and can crank out a lot of stuff in my personal projects (in multiple languages). I, touch wood, don't see this changing.

The Job. That's a different story. I have witnessed our industry get beseiged by level mania. Follow rubriks for a particular level to get certain ratings and promotions. Programming alone wont help you grow/level up beyond the terminal level. So there is a lot needed in terms of influence, project management, leadership (and the related artifacts to boot) that need to be presented and that to at a very regular cadence (binnual perf reviews). I don't know this is sustainable when not young?

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