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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?

#491

Post by chillingeffect »

sbilstein wrote: post #440
fyfy18 wrote: post #229

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do you find your brain works and how productive you are compared to say 20 years ago? My father is in his late 70s and gets quite tired during his day - I wonder if you keep working it keeps the brain more active. Also it must be weird going to a retirement party for someone who is 15 years younger than you :D

Took an interesting course on aging and the brain. Everyone suffers some degree of cognitive decline but it can vary wildly based on a number of circumstances to an almost negligible extent for lucky people. A lot of it is out of your control but high performing people who keep engaging their mind can compensate better for decline. It’s also why leaving your job or moving to a place with less activity can accelerate…

interesting, did they talk about the topics of nootropics and atherosclerosis in this class?

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

#492

Post by nsfyn55 »

My experiences with programmers that have more than 30 years on the job fall into 1 of 2 categories...

1. Constant complaining about the state of things(too much memory, too complicated, back in my day, blah, blah, blah). Why do I have to learn git?, containers?, on, and on, and on. VMs are just fine, what's wrong with java 1.4?, ... exhausting . These programmers probably sucked when they had 5 years of experience and continue to suck today. Crossed arms, learned helplessness level 99.

2. Crazy life long learners that have ridden one technology wave after another for decades on end. When something new comes out they are on it like flies on picnic food.

It's my greatest, most sincere hope that I have the energy, temperament to become the latter.

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

#493

Post by eggy »

mertnesvat wrote: post #485
chrisseaton wrote: post #418

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Do you feel like you learned from your advisors, some if whom I'd imagine were younger than you? Why do you think it'd be unusual to learn from someone younger than yourself?

Really good point! I think as an internet generation we are the first ones to experience decreasing importance of the age.

I am sure he also had plenty to teach them! Experience hones your problem solving and troubleshooting skills.

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

#494

Post by pakitan »

toadi wrote: post #451
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'm 43 now and working like 23 years in IT in various roles. Started a few companies and did that all on a high school diploma. One of my dreams is when I retire to finally go to university and get a proper degree.This more for emotional sentiment. My grandfather was a (fighter)pilot and later he worked senior management at a bank. His biggest regret was not going to uni himself(poor parents and the army paid for it)…

> One of my dreams is when I retire to finally go to university and get a proper degree.This more for emotional sentiment

I'm around same age and experience, though I'm actually getting a degree now. My advice is - don't. It's an unbelievable waste of money and time. My initial goal was to leverage the degree into a better job but my plans changed and now I'll just be left with a useless piece of paper. In any case, getting a degree once you retire would be even worse. Work on some real world project that you enjoy, rather than settling for doing menial tasks, doled out by people who may know less about the subject than you do, while being rewarded with virtual points/grades.

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

#495

Post by ido »

mnw21cam wrote: post #489
purplezooey wrote: post #473

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bike trips are more exercise than gardening, though..

I wouldn't be so sure. I did a load of gardening over the weekend, and it involved heavy things. I'm sure I got more exercise to more muscles in my body than I would if I had gone on a bike ride.

I'm guessing you mean motorbike and the person you're replying too thought you meant bicycle...

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

#496

Post by HarHarVeryFunny »

You've got me beat. I learned to program in the late 70's taking adult evening classes at local university (PL/1 punched card batch system), got my first home computer in 1979(NASCOM-1 Z80 1MHz kit - DIY solder assembly), took Math/CS in university, then started programming professionally in 1982, and still going strong.

My first job was at Acorn Computers Ltd (UK), writing Acorn ISO Pascal in 6502 assembler, and fast forward almost 40 years currently working for major Telecom writing C++ frameworks/libraries for Linux. Still enjoy it as a hobby too, currently writing my third C++ neural network framework (full blown, GPU accelerated, etc), with lifetime goal of eventually building autonomous robot with animal/human level AI.

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

#497

Post by lemanire »

I just retired at 78 after 55 years as a programmer, database and GIS specialist. Now I'm using those skills pro bono to help farmers adopt wireless sensors and take advantage of the latest IOT developments with Arduino/Raspberry Pi type technology. Started on punch cards, TTY 33 paper tape and mag tapes on a CDC 6400.

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

#498

Post by dmag »

Small shout out for Sir Maurice Wilkes, who was involved in some of the earliest stored program concept computers back in the late 40s (designed and built EDSAC in 48/49, and the inventor of microprogramming in the early 50s. Worked in the Computer Lab in Cambridge for years, spent some time in the US, and returned to the lab in the early 2000's. Was still a feature in the labs until not long before his death in 2010, at the grand old age of 97. Would have been around the 60 odd year mark at that stage. I can't speak to how much he was working at that stage, but still a very impressive career and a very impressive individual.

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

#499

Post by TheMerovingian »

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…

As someone that will work well past retirement age, what lessons or wisdom could you impart on us youngins'?
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