51–60 of 118 posts
I have a friend that is 53 that still does triathlons with people half his age.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
What I'd give to be 30 again...
Out of curiosity if I may, what'd you be doing if you woke up 30 tomorrow morning?
I hit 50 two years ago. I didn't mind turning 50. It was the constant stereotyping that society(at least in the U.S.) that finally got to me. I recall hitting 50 and not giving it much thought, but it seemed like when ever I turned on any from of media, I was reminded of all the pitfalls of getting older. It's so depressing, I am thing about getting rid of cable. I'll still watch movies on my devises, but I need to t…
>It's so depressing, I am thing about getting rid of cable. Do it. Doesn't matter if you are 10, 50, or 150, get rid of any media that shoves so much advertising down your throat. So much of it is set to cause the problems they try to resolve. Take skin cream commercials for teens with acne; watch how they may acne out to be this horrendous thing you must cure. Watching those ads do nothing to improve your life.
My cable gods bring me wholesome entertainment with the naughty bits blurred or bleeped, so I don't have to feel or think nothing!
And my god man, they have beer commercials! AND pizza commercials! Come to think of it, why don't they have the beer and pizza commercials combined?
But I digress..
Earlier quoted context omitted.
What I'd give to be 30 again...
Out of curiosity if I may, what'd you be doing if you woke up 30 tomorrow morning?
I'm 30 now. If I woke up 20 again, I'd like to be offered the following advice:
1) Don't accept blindly the first paid internship you get, no matter how "big" the "big corp" is and how blessed your parents think you should feel (bear in mind, this was Portugal 9 years);
1.a) If you do accept, you don't have to stay there afterwards. Don't "stay" just because you're comfortable, particularly if you know, deep-down, you're not doing anything worthy or you hate it;
1.a.1) Even if you stay, move - sooner rather than later - if you suspect you should've already been promoted or "grown" inside the company. I'd say that, if you're not promoted or adequately appreciated within 3-5 years, chances are you won't be, at all. You'll deeply regret the years lost at that company, particularly if you're not fond of the business;
2) Overtime is a an exception. I repeat, exception. No money will ever pay the time you wasted in OT, particularly if it was for a company you don't like or a product you don't believe in;
3) A company funded PhD is a lovely idea if you're in love with the company. If you're not, or if you have any kind of bad feelings about it, "run". It's a very long term commitment, and the company will make you pay if you leave. I did; I couldn't stand it anymore, so I decided to pay. Bear in mind, again, Portugal; tuition for a PhD is a lot of money here.
I hit 50 two years ago. I didn't mind turning 50. It was the constant stereotyping that society(at least in the U.S.) that finally got to me. I recall hitting 50 and not giving it much thought, but it seemed like when ever I turned on any from of media, I was reminded of all the pitfalls of getting older. It's so depressing, I am thing about getting rid of cable. I'll still watch movies on my devises, but I need to t…
computer programs are now monstrosities of large numbers
of layers of libraries cobbled together to create ever
more slickly polished user interfaces showing ever more
inane content and advertising.
Second, as the author says, programming these days is often just taking libraries, writing adapters, all to serve slightly more relevant ads slightly faster. What a huge fucking waste of time. After the 2008 financial meltdown, it was noted that the "best and brightest" young people were wasting their talents on the "financialization" of the economy, which did nothing good for nearly everyone. I see the same thing happening now, in software.
Third, like the author, I got tired of working for idiots and wasting my time on corporate voodoo, so I left for consulting. While that has much to recommend it, working pretty much by yourself definitely limits what you can accomplish. On the other hand, I have a lot more time to myself, and I'm enjoying traveling, visiting family and friends, sleeping late, and generally just doing whatever I want.
Nice post, Jacques. Luckily, I'm only 47.5. I've got a long time before I have your concerns of being 50. I've found that the hardest part of getting older is the work you have to put into your mind and body just to slow the decline of age. You go from being in your 20's and eating all the donuts and burgers you wanted to.... to being in your 30's where you start having to watch what you eat and limit some portions..…
Before Viagra and the like (or the somewhat older injectable fixes), your sex life was almost certainly over by 50 or 55. While I may be unusually horny for an old guy, that is a big fucking deal. I can't imagine facing another 20-30 years not getting laid. And because of advances in public health and medicine, that would have been an increasingly likely outcome, previous generations just being dead not too long after the plumbing stopped working. While the medical fixes are less than ideal, they do work, and I am very happy about it.
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> Or even if you're not changing track, if you're developer ~20%++ of the track changes on you every year, can you maintain this pace when you're older, maybe with a family, and don't have the time or motivation to learn yet another way of doing for the umpteenth time. For younger people I would recommend keeping a close eye on that situation over the long term and if possible have a plan B if you want to get off the…
Agreed, and try not to lose all that money in the market.
I'll be hitting 50 in a couple of years, and like Jacques I've noticed my tolerance for bullshit and injustice has decreased. I've tentatively put the former down to a subliminal (mostly) awareness of having less time to waste. I feel more focused. I've also noticed that my tolerance for cynicism has decreased significantly in the last few years. I'm not totally sure why, but I suspect that I've come to see cynicism…
On the other hand, I'm not sure it's fair to come down so harshly on people who are feeling hopeless and/or powerless. I'm not sure getting indignant with such individuals is particularly constructive. There's probably a reason there are so many people who feel this way, and it's not just pure selfishness.
I am sadly terrified of getting older. Not because I fear death (well, maybe a little), but I fear the silver ceiling this industry seems to place on many. Sure, the CIO/CTO thing might help, but I'm not banking on it. I've seen so many qualified folks get replaced by younger, unqualified ones just because of the way IT tends to favor the young.
Now I look at my own daughter, who is very interested in following in my footsteps and is already programming and Lego mindstorm'ing, and I really, sincerely hesitate to push her in that direction. I love the craft and think it's very personally rewarding as a creative outlet, but not only is there this silver ceiling, but to stay current you are constantly required to be learning. I spend almost all my spare time working to stay current. I see friends who are lawyers or accountants, and while I would probably die of boredom in either field, there seems to be nowhere near the level of effort to stay current in those fields.
While I don't think the constant learning requirement has a solution, I really hope to get some time in the future thinking deeply about the silver ceiling problem. Not just for me, but for my tech friends. I personally employee two 60+ folks on my team, and they're great resources. I wish other companies would view them in this way. It seems there is something which could be done...even if it's a company which distinguishes itself by making a point of hiring senior, aging folks for solving problems which require that level of experience. However, that of course has it's own difficult problems to solve (namely, a senior employee likely has a lot of his/her own personal overhead to cover, so salary requirements will be understandably greater). Still, if the problems were out there, perhaps a company like that could thrive. Perhaps.
Anyway, just the ramblings of a early forties techie who thinks/worries a lot about this. One day I'll take action either way, because there will come a time where there is no other choice ;)