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I am getting out of software development after 10 years of coding

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31–40 of 108 posts

Re: I am getting out of software development after 10 years of coding

#31

I think he's setting up some false choices here. Also, when I look at the interests list, 'Tech evangelism' was the first thing I thought of, not kitchen helper. I'll also argue that after 10 years as a software engineer, if you're still just putting buttons on a page or waiting for next feature to show up on your queue, you're doing it wrong. Software engineering contains a large range of disciplines. You don't need…

> I'll also argue that after 10 years as a software engineer, if you're still just putting buttons on a page or waiting for next feature to show up on your queue, you're doing it wrong.

Sometimes the job market doesn't provide people with fulfilling jobs and roles. They might not have any choice in doing it 'right' and just have 'wrong' as an option.

Re: I am getting out of software development after 10 years of coding

#32
Working as a software dev for a company is horrible in many ways (the ways being different depending on the size of the company and the industry), but good luck to the guy finding something significantly less terrible and soul-crushing and alienating that pays even 1/2 of what coding does

Of course, if you've been smart and wise, you can afford not to care after 10 years of software development

Re: I am getting out of software development after 10 years of coding

#33

“ For instance, I could be fulfilling any of these roles: …kitchen helper…” Has developing software really gotten worse in the last 10 years, have expectations gotten higher, or what? I’ve been around 20 years and (anecdotally) for me it’s better than it ever has been. I’m a mobile developer and not a web dev though, how much does language matter in job satisfaction?

What country/city? In Montreal I would say expectation got way higher. Positions with 85K CAD ask for 4 coding rounds and then just ghost you. On other hand one can land a 'municipal park manager' job with 125K CAD pay (of course if have access to such jobs). Also now it seems never ending scrums/ micromanagement are everywhere, exacerbated by covid-19 work from home.

Re: I am getting out of software development after 10 years of coding

#35

I really think people who leave software engineering altogether mostly failed to find a company that respects engineers/pays well. If you are good at the algorithms interviews, you can make ~400k with 5 to 8 years of experience. Do that for a decade, and with some saving and basic investing, you are basically done working. On the other hand, fail to pass the algorithms interview, you are essentially stuck at 140-170k…

That's not entirely true. I work for big corporations, and the reality is that they're paying big money not for the ability to code, but for the ability to manage projects (even when there is a separate PM). If you're good at making several people work towards a goal and make management happy with your projects, you'll make the money you mention. If you're just interested in coding, they will show you the door sooner rather than later.

Re: I am getting out of software development after 10 years of coding

#36

I really think people who leave software engineering altogether mostly failed to find a company that respects engineers/pays well. If you are good at the algorithms interviews, you can make ~400k with 5 to 8 years of experience. Do that for a decade, and with some saving and basic investing, you are basically done working. On the other hand, fail to pass the algorithms interview, you are essentially stuck at 140-170k…

Is this based on experience? This post reads a bit like a student studying algorithms for the coding interview thinking that is the pathway to success.

Re: I am getting out of software development after 10 years of coding

#37

I really think people who leave software engineering altogether mostly failed to find a company that respects engineers/pays well. If you are good at the algorithms interviews, you can make ~400k with 5 to 8 years of experience. Do that for a decade, and with some saving and basic investing, you are basically done working. On the other hand, fail to pass the algorithms interview, you are essentially stuck at 140-170k…

[deleted]

Re: I am getting out of software development after 10 years of coding

#38

“ For instance, I could be fulfilling any of these roles: …kitchen helper…” Has developing software really gotten worse in the last 10 years, have expectations gotten higher, or what? I’ve been around 20 years and (anecdotally) for me it’s better than it ever has been. I’m a mobile developer and not a web dev though, how much does language matter in job satisfaction?

In the olden days, being a web developer might have meant pushing your PHP files to your server using rsync or SFTP and you were done. Now a days, being a web developer means you run a Jenkins job to webpack your 1,000 JS libraries and deploy your React Docker container to multiple clouds. Edit: Not to mention the legal team has to sign off on your cookie compliance strategy I totally see the article's point about be…

Testify!

My IDE would do the publish step for me but I see your point about the 'olden days'.

I would really hate to be getting into the web dev job market right now because the amount of things that it is assumed you should be able to do is incredible.

Re: I am getting out of software development after 10 years of coding

#39

Working as a software dev for a company is horrible in many ways (the ways being different depending on the size of the company and the industry), but good luck to the guy finding something significantly less terrible and soul-crushing and alienating that pays even 1/2 of what coding does Of course, if you've been smart and wise, you can afford not to care after 10 years of software development

> Working as a software dev for a company is horrible in many ways

I think working for any large company is a horrible thing regardless of your role.

Re: I am getting out of software development after 10 years of coding

#40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wish I was stuck programming for 140k

Indeed... I'm beginning to believe that I exist in an alternate universe (colloquially known as "Europe") where insane software engineering salaries aren't normalised.

Many fang companies have offices all over Europe. The pay is not quite as high as the US but it is much higher than average dev European salaries.
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