This is depressing. I'm 33 and still haven't really find a niche inside software dev that I'm willing to stay...
On the other hand, nobody asks doctors and lawyers if their are planning to retire at 35.
Is software development really a dead-end job after age 35-40?
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Re: Is software development really a dead-end job after age 35-40?
#3236 here. I'm happier in my job than I ever have been.
I'm working for bigger names, on bigger projects, for way more money than even 5 years ago.
Re: Is software development really a dead-end job after age 35-40?
#33I would like to hear how to make it in software when nearing 40 :)
Re: Is software development really a dead-end job after age 35-40?
#34Sitting in an office 9-5 is dead-end job. Most people move into independent consulting, remote work, their own business....
Sitting in the office, undisturbed, for eight hours, coding - sound perfect to me!
Re: Is software development really a dead-end job after age 35-40?
#35Where I work most of my coworkers are Senior Devs and a number of them are around that age range and older. There's like 3 of us who are in our 20's. It depends on companies, and the person applying for the job. Not everyone is "perfect" for your team despite having years of experience, or being fresh out of college. There's also those COBOL job ads I see all the time, they pay a ton for experienced devs and a number of those are not going anywhere.
Re: Is software development really a dead-end job after age 35-40?
#36Earlier quoted context omitted.
I also think a good manager can double or quadruple the effectiveness of their entire team Another way of thinking about this: Managing people really well is really hard. Most managers are not the best managers. Average managers often end up doing things that reduce the output of their group in the interest of things not going horribly wrong. The Pareto distribution rears its ugly head, once again.
I wish I had more than one upvote. If you have no management experience, and no mentorship in managing, you have no business managing people. Managing requires empathy and a desire to help your subordinates level up, not SWE skills. Your job is to deliver value to the org and to your individual contributors in equal parts. At least as a software developer, you're only breaking code. But you start affecting people's l…
This is a big problem in startups. Developers with very little to nothing of not only management experience but even development experience become VPofE/Directors/CTOs and wreak psychological havoc on people they are supposed to manage. Sometimes they do it on purpose because of insecurities or many times just unintentionally.
Re: Is software development really a dead-end job after age 35-40?
#37Re: Is software development really a dead-end job after age 35-40?
#38Depends. If you look up to - John Carmack, Jeff Dean, Jon Skeet (a lot of more names), and keep learning, growing and outpacing yourself from yday then sky is the limit.
These are genius level people, not someone we can actually ever become one.
Re: Is software development really a dead-end job after age 35-40?
#39not always. i'm about to retire at 65 and I've been a hands-on software engineer for 35 years. Pro-tip : one type of work that can last is in the Defense industry. Projects in that industry can last 10-20 years or more, and experience seems to be valued much more there.
Same for medical. Progress is often annoyingly slow but it's definitely a place where experience counts.
Re: Is software development really a dead-end job after age 35-40?
#40In the general sense, this is the wrong place to ask. It's a self-selecting group in that most people over 40 here will be among the group that lasted in the career. It won't give a sense of how large that group is in the wider world, nor how many didn't stick with it. On the other hand, if you want to hear how to make it past 40 in software, this is probably an excellent place to ask!
Then let me ask: how do you make it past 40 in software? Specifically, how do you position yourself so that you are actively sought after (rather than merely employable)?