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Ask HN: Am I the longest-serving programmer – 57 years and counting?

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Re: Ask HN: Am I the longest-serving programmer – 57 years and counting?

#241

Post by detaro »

adontz wrote: post #239
shlant wrote: post #233

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"I am sorry, but you are not a programmer anymore" Your gatekeeping is not welcome here. This isn't a competition. "The reason you are able to completely ignore the age issue is because there's no ageism in hiring business analysts and project managers. The ageism is visible in hiring programmers, which most certainly you are not." and your unfounded conclusions aren't welcome either.

I am just 37 but find myself much more comfortable in management than writing code, compared to 27yo myself. I can't understand why you shame someone for pointing at true facts.

It's a bit pointless given the commenter in question didn't even call themselves a programmer. Or comes across as doubling down: "I know you didn't call yourself a programmer, but just to make sure you know you don't count anymore I'll tell you explicitly". And of course being PM doesn't preclude programming too, so it's just guessing.

Re: Ask HN: Am I the longest-serving programmer – 57 years and counting?

#242

Post by slightwinder »

shlant wrote: post #233
harisund wrote: post #228

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am sorry, but you are not a programmer anymore. You are a project manager or a business analyst. The reason you are able to completely ignore the age issue is because there's no ageism in hiring business analysts and project managers. The ageism is visible in hiring programmers, which most certainly you are not. You might "dabble" in code outside of work in your own spare time, but that doesn't make you a professio…

"I am sorry, but you are not a programmer anymore" Your gatekeeping is not welcome here. This isn't a competition. "The reason you are able to completely ignore the age issue is because there's no ageism in hiring business analysts and project managers. The ageism is visible in hiring programmers, which most certainly you are not." and your unfounded conclusions aren't welcome either.

> This isn't a competition.

Except it is, as that is the single goal of this thread: Find out who is the longest serving Programmer, not the oldest guy doing something with IT. His remark is not wrong in that context.

Re: Ask HN: Am I the longest-serving programmer – 57 years and counting?

#243

Post by ChrisMarshallNY »

You have my respect sir (I assume, but women have been a significant force in programming since the days of Yore).

I have been writing software since 1983, and Apple software since 1986. I started as an EE (actually, technician, but became an EE in '84).

I was a manager for a large part of my career, which relegated my programming to open-source projects (one of which has become a rather significant force, in its own right).

I also worked for a Japanese corporation for almost 27 years. The Japanese have a sort of "reverse-ageism" in their culture. Older folks are often treated with a great deal of respect, and their judgment is considered valuable. Many promotions have age (must be "at least"...) as a factor. There's lots of issues with Japanese business culture, but it was the environment where I learned a lot of my cultural cues.

So, it has been rather...interesting to encounter the current...um...level of respect...for experienced engineers in today's American tech industry.

TBH, it was shocking. I knew that it was a factor, but I had no idea that it was so prevalent. I was absolutely gobsmacked.

When I first encountered it, I just wanted to throw in the towel and run, but I don't work that way. Instead, I doubled-down, and it has been quite gratifying. I guess old dudes can code, after all...

Again, you have my respect.

This guy is inspiring: https://www.businessinsider.sg/oldest-nobel-prize-winner-art...

Re: Ask HN: Am I the longest-serving programmer – 57 years and counting?

#244

Post by hpcjoe »

tchaffee wrote: post #224
radres wrote: post #184

Earlier quoted context omitted.

OP asked longest-serving programmer. That doesn't involve people who switched to management or some other position like CEO.

You don't know that. I have served as CEO and still coded every day.

As did I. Common at smaller companies with tech CEOs.

Re: Ask HN: Am I the longest-serving programmer – 57 years and counting?

#245

Post by JoeAltmaier »

slightwinder wrote: post #242
shlant wrote: post #233

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"I am sorry, but you are not a programmer anymore" Your gatekeeping is not welcome here. This isn't a competition. "The reason you are able to completely ignore the age issue is because there's no ageism in hiring business analysts and project managers. The ageism is visible in hiring programmers, which most certainly you are not." and your unfounded conclusions aren't welcome either.

> This isn't a competition. Except it is, as that is the single goal of this thread: Find out who is the longest serving Programmer, not the oldest guy doing something with IT. His remark is not wrong in that context.

But it is unnecessary, pedantic and mean. We can all read the programmer/analyst's post for ourselves; we don't need an interpreter.

Re: Ask HN: Am I the longest-serving programmer – 57 years and counting?

#246

Post by Supermancho »

harisund wrote: post #228
pxsant wrote: post #212

I am 80 years old and still working full time in IT. Although I evolved from pure programming to project management and business analysis the past few years. Originally started out working at Cape Canaveral as a radar and telemetry engineer and moved into programming after I left there. Whenever I interview, I completely ignore the age issue. If the interviewer is to dumb to recognize the value of my knowledge and ex…

I am sorry, but you are not a programmer anymore. You are a project manager or a business analyst. The reason you are able to completely ignore the age issue is because there's no ageism in hiring business analysts and project managers. The ageism is visible in hiring programmers, which most certainly you are not. You might "dabble" in code outside of work in your own spare time, but that doesn't make you a professio…

I propose the simplest metric. Point to a hash for a commit that made it into production (your project or a collaboration) in the last month. If you have that in hand, you're still "programming".

Re: Ask HN: Am I the longest-serving programmer – 57 years and counting?

#247

Post by binodkalathil »

I have been a coder for 9+ years now but im seeing variations in my X-Rays of my neck due to long hours of sitting, i guess.

Do you face any such health issues related to the profession? Or do you do/practice anything that can avoid such health conditions related to the profession?

Re: Ask HN: Am I the longest-serving programmer – 57 years and counting?

#248

Post by Ndymium »

z3t4 wrote: post #222
SonOfLilit wrote: post #161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

PHP and Javascript both improved significantly, but both still have horrible legacy baggage that can't be rid of, namely weak typing (not dynamic, where a variable can hold any type, but weak, where "1"+2=3). For me, that makes programming in either language like running in a minefield. And still, I write Javascript daily, because myeusers don't care about weak typing :-)

Strong/weak and dynamic/static. JS is dynamic, but variables will always have a type, which is memory safe - which makes types strong.

I thought weak/strong typing is more about how explicit/implicit type conversion is. In PHP and JS it's almost always implicit and they don't warn you for mixing most types, whereas e.g. Python will complain. That's one thing I don't enjoy with PHP/JS. A lot of certainty goes out of the window with it.

Re: Ask HN: Am I the longest-serving programmer – 57 years and counting?

#249

Post by genedangelo »

pkrotich wrote: post #10

What’s your daily routine now and how has it evolved over the years?

For most of the past 25 years I have been working from home - which is a problem because you never leave your work. The main thing that has changed over recent years is that I now take a 1-hour nap around 2 or 3 PM every day, except when I have conference calls that prevent it. After the nap, I feel rejuvenated and productive. I'm sure this is partly related to old age, but I'm also dyslexic and I think my brain needs a rest from struggling with written communications.
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