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Ask HN: After 20 years of programming, what do I do now?

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Re: Ask HN: After 20 years of programming, what do I do now?

#11

Post by atwebb »

giardini wrote: post #9

Study up on Microsoft SQL Server and present yourself as someone to fill a DBA role. Pay attention especially to the basics: backup, restore, migration, import and export of data and Microsoft Report Services. Read the fine print about SQL Server version differences (nobody else will). SQL Server is in high demand and most programmers have little interest in the DBA role, yet it is crucial (read "highly-valued") in m…

To add onto this, being a "developer DBA" can be clutch. OP has a background in application programming and can relate to other groups a lot easier and inherently understand pain points and reasoning behind certain architecture decisions.

Re: Ask HN: After 20 years of programming, what do I do now?

#12

Post by noir_lord »

I'm in a somewhat similar boat in that I've too much developer experience to be a junior programmer but not as much experience in modern stacks (I've about 5 years on modern web dev but two of that was mostly Drupal) before that it was all line-of-business internal stuff for business.

I solved that problem by bootstrapping a startup with consulting/development for other startups that are viable but weak technically, this gives me a lot of variety in side work while also funding my main startup.

In addition I'm currently in the process of setting up another 'startup' as a non-profit (which I'm funding out of pocket until I have a complete product at which point I'll create a charity, assign all IP to it and open the source, I wanted to pay it forward), that one is going to be a complete health management system for patients with chronic or long term medical issues (this one came about as a result of my having chronic issues essentially I'm building the thing I looked for when I got ill and didn't exist) - which complies with all the standards and legislation applicable to local and national government systems, effectively I'm building the system that should already exist for end users.

Re: Ask HN: After 20 years of programming, what do I do now?

#13

Post by pjmorris »

> I kept my current job because of the money and flexibility they gave me to stay, > but now that working here isn't worth it anymore,

So, what does 'worth it' mean to you? I see money and flexibility as the plusses of your current job... maybe that's all you need from the job. Could you keep this one and do something additional to get at whatever 'worth it' means to you?

Re: Ask HN: After 20 years of programming, what do I do now?

#14

Post by RefactorCareer »

rhubarbcustard wrote: post #5

I have interviewed a fair number of people for different positions over the years, here's my 2p: 1. I would look at your CV and see your narrow focus but I would still be wondering based on your experiences whether you could move to the technology we use. 2. Good/great developers seem to be in short supply, if you can prove your ability to understand code, build robust things and ship you would be just fine in my int…

I guess I wish the positions I applied for had hiring managers as open as you are. To be honest, with the majority of the places I've applied to, I get no response at all.

Re: Ask HN: After 20 years of programming, what do I do now?

#15

Post by 1arity »

apply your self ( most valuable asset, since that has yielded you success so far ) to learning MVC, and maybe Reactive or single direction of data flow architecture.

here's the kicker: only learn so much that you know a little more than the other guys in the companies doing web forms, and then

market yourself as the guy

who knows the legacy code base, knows the organizational in and outs, knows the systems, and who's going to help transition them to MVC ( and newer tech )

so you're a guy ( or gal ) with little experience in MVC teaching folks with no experience in MVC, how to transition to MVC.

this is a niche, and you'd be perfect for it. it'll be stimulating as there is the conceptual challenge of bridging the two realms, the satisfaction of using your extensive experience, and the excitement of growing yourself into something new.

i'm excited for you. not many people will be able to be at the right place and the right time to do this. and it sounds like, with a bit of results, this could spin into your own consulting or dev shop serving this technical debt.

this path works and the future is bright for people like you.

Re: Ask HN: After 20 years of programming, what do I do now?

#16

Post by RefactorCareer »

pjmorris wrote: post #13

> I kept my current job because of the money and flexibility they gave me to stay, > but now that working here isn't worth it anymore, So, what does 'worth it' mean to you? I see money and flexibility as the plusses of your current job... maybe that's all you need from the job. Could you keep this one and do something additional to get at whatever 'worth it' means to you?

I thought money and flexibility would be enough, but working on simple client requests is boring me to death, and I miss the ownership of working on a product. I'm sure I could milk this out until I retired, but there are other issues with the company, and I don't want to be miserable at something that takes so much of my day.

Re: Ask HN: After 20 years of programming, what do I do now?

#17

Post by wooUK »

I was also in a similar position as you as a valued lead dev with 15 years of experience working in a company that didn’t want to embrace newer technologies (stuck on WebForms, not moving to MVC, etc). I was not interested in progressing into middle management and had hit the ceiling with regards pay so I became a contractor. I taught myself MVC got an initial bum-on-a-seat noddy contract which was doing MVC CRUD screens for 3 months. Then for the next contract I combined my wealth of experience with my new found proven MVC credentials and got a lovely MVC contract at a senior level earning much more than I have ever earned before. Contracting is not for everyone but I’ve been doing it for 5 years now and still consider it one of my better career moves.

Re: Ask HN: After 20 years of programming, what do I do now?

#19

Post by a3n »

pjmorris wrote: post #13

> I kept my current job because of the money and flexibility they gave me to stay, > but now that working here isn't worth it anymore, So, what does 'worth it' mean to you? I see money and flexibility as the plusses of your current job... maybe that's all you need from the job. Could you keep this one and do something additional to get at whatever 'worth it' means to you?

No job lasts forever. That money and flexibility could disappear at the drop of an email. It sounds like his current job is comfortable, but it doesn't demonstrate to his next employer that he's relevant. I'd worry about that.
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