Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Software Developers after 40, 50 and 60 Who're Still Coding

belitsoft.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

121–130 of 270 posts

Re: Software Developers after 40, 50 and 60 Who're Still Coding

#121

Post by cyrux004 »

svachalek wrote: post #103
cyrux004 wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

can you justify the 3-5x difference in annual compensation that younger developer makes can you justify the 2-3x difference between you and a guy who was been coding for 5-7 years ?

3-5X? What country is this? Typically in Silicon Valley there's a rapid rise in the first 5-7 years and then it gets pretty flat (say, 1.1X or 1.2X not 2-3X) unless you're actually taking on a bigger role (and thus getting paid for those responsibilities rather than "experience" per se). When you look at it from a company cost perspective, the ratios get even smaller. The fixed costs (desk, power, healthcare, etc) ar…

At Microsoft, annual compensation for entry level hire is around 130k (W2 box #2) where as for the principal engineer that figure is atleast 350k

Re: Software Developers after 40, 50 and 60 Who're Still Coding

#122

Post by iblaine »

closure wrote: post #76
iblaine wrote: post #73

I came across a graybeard in an interview recently who refused to take a coding challenge and cited his experience instead. He did not advance through the interview process.

A "graybeard"? I think he made the right choice there.

I'm a graybeard so far be it from me to pass judgement. If you're applying for $300k/yr architect level job, then you should be good at every level of software development, including writing it.

Re: Software Developers after 40, 50 and 60 Who're Still Coding

#123

Post by mtm »

LanceH wrote: post #4
peapicker wrote: post #2

".. However, StackOverflow’s survey on age shows that there are just about 13% of developers after 40. Where are the others?" Obviously not on StackOverflow. Perhaps they have enough experience and knowledge to not need the site because they either know how to read tech books and sites to get the info they need when they have a problem using pre-existing docs, or conversely, are fully able to debug issues themselves.…

Mid 40's and older had to learn without the use of the internet. Programming as a profession wasn't ubiquitous as it is now for that same age group. Above 50 and they didn't have a computer in their house growing up. I'm mid 40's and I had one by 9th grade, but it was a high bar for entry compared to today.

52 and I started with a KIM-1, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KIM-1 (mowed lawns to save up for it, still have it, still works). Been programming ever since and rarely use SO (most of the time I just read the code when I'm trying to grock some aspect of a library.)

Re: Software Developers after 40, 50 and 60 Who're Still Coding

#124

Post by godmodus »

justin66 wrote: post #120
cryptonector wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is a reason graybeards are valuable. It's not that they're over 50 or 60. It's experience. A full-stack developer with 20 years' worth of experience will not make certain kinds of mistakes.

Does anyone with 20 years experience refer to themselves as a "full-stack developer?"

Full stack is just new age lingo, and sure why not. We say AI (shudder) these days instead of ML, we say devops instead of sysadmin, we say cloud instead of vps/hosting.

Times change and so does language, true to any old fart out there, and the old farts to be.

Re: Software Developers after 40, 50 and 60 Who're Still Coding

#125

Post by aventuri »

lutusp wrote: post #78

I'm 71, I wrote a best-seller in the early 1980s (Apple Writer for the Apple ][), I still code regularly but not for income, so my circumstances might not be what the article focuses on. I write a lot of Python, JavaScript, some Java, I have a number of Android apps listed at the Google Play store -- all of them free, no ads ( https://play.google.com/store/apps/developer?id=Paul+Lutus&h... ). Why do I still program?…

Paul Lutus, you a mith of my Apple ][ times. cant believe (and SO happy..) you online!! IIRC you were programming in a bungalow out of nowhere at that time.. right?

me, 50 yo, still coding embedded sw..

Re: Software Developers after 40, 50 and 60 Who're Still Coding

#127

Post by geldan »

kaftoy wrote: post #92
charles-salvia wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Doctors rely on software a lot to do their job. One day they may even be replaced by software.

I hope that day never comes.

I hope it does. If doctors are replaced it's because medical care has improved beyond their capabilities. How could you not want better medical care?

Re: Software Developers after 40, 50 and 60 Who're Still Coding

#129

Post by Arwill »

mod wrote: post #82
Mc_Big_G wrote: post #74

45. Still coding, probably until I die. Light years ahead of younger developers in the following: * Writing less code * Writing maintainable code * Re-using existing code (requires reading existing code) * Know how APIs should be written * Knowing how to properly map associations * Know when or when not to use another library * Knowing when to tell a product manager to go back and do some more product managing * Know…

> Saying "I don't know" when asked "How long will it take" or "When will it be done" ~5 years experience speaking: How do you do this? I have a very good boss and he knows things, objectively, like "estimates are very squishy," and "developers suck at estimating time" etc. But he still demands time estimates to give clients. Our clients are often agencies, and they get it as well. I do estimates like "10-40 hours, de…

Often times managers demand an estimate from you, not because they need the job urgently done, but just so that they can hold you accountable to something. If you promise something, they can assume that you will give your best to keep that deadline.

Re: Software Developers after 40, 50 and 60 Who're Still Coding

#130

Post by asmithmd1 »

mod wrote: post #82
Mc_Big_G wrote: post #74

45. Still coding, probably until I die. Light years ahead of younger developers in the following: * Writing less code * Writing maintainable code * Re-using existing code (requires reading existing code) * Know how APIs should be written * Knowing how to properly map associations * Know when or when not to use another library * Knowing when to tell a product manager to go back and do some more product managing * Know…

> Saying "I don't know" when asked "How long will it take" or "When will it be done" ~5 years experience speaking: How do you do this? I have a very good boss and he knows things, objectively, like "estimates are very squishy," and "developers suck at estimating time" etc. But he still demands time estimates to give clients. Our clients are often agencies, and they get it as well. I do estimates like "10-40 hours, de…

Spend time to fully estimate each task in each feature point in hours and double it of course. Now increase the unit of time by one: 3 hours = 6 days, 2 days = 4 weeks, 4 weeks = 8 months.
Post reply on HN