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Aging programmer

world.hey.com

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Re: Aging programmer

#281

Post by symfoniq »

wonderwonder wrote: post #88
sys_64738 wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A lot of programmers who are 35+ can struggle to find further opportunities as the more senior you are the less available those opportunities are and the more expensive you are. Lots of companies only want young people who are naive and have limited distractions outside of work. So, really, programming as a field is front loaded and the longer you stay in the business over 35 then the luckier you have been. But make…

I very much think this is limited to the startup / work fast and break things style of companies. Always work available for sr. people at large established companies, especially fortune 500. Specifically companies where tech is not the core business product, many of them are attempting to modernize their systems. They pay pretty well too; not Google / Amazon level but on a pure salary basis many probably pay comparab…

I agree.

After some frustrating experiences applying and interviewing for jobs at the kind of startup-sized companies where I’ve spent my entire career, and fearing that my age might be a factor (I’m about to turn 40), I applied on a job at a Fortune 500 and had an offer a few days later.

The pay, benefits, and work/life balance are excellent, to the point that I have some regret over not exploring this avenue sooner.

Oh, and now I’m younger than most of my coworkers again. I don’t think ageism is a thing here.

Re: Aging programmer

#282

Post by w4ffl35 »

kbcool wrote: post #261
w4ffl35 wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

the thing that gets frustrating as i age are interviews and code challenges. i'd really prefer a certification that proves i can do xyz which i take once (per year? in my life?). then just decide if you like me based on personality and communication. i have over 200 repositories etc. its redundant, and random code challenges that differ from employer to employer prove next to nothing. 20 years ago it was the norm for…

I'm an older engineer too and I am very aware of how frustrating this can be for techs of all ages so I made our screening test less fizzbuzz, do my work for me and gotcha questions and more real world, challenging, engaging and most of all interesting. Examples include: How would you solve this at a high level, here's some code we know is broken, how would you both fix and improve it etc. After all, both parties are…

This sounds like a well refined process. DM me ;)

Re: Aging programmer

#283

Post by scarface74 »

yodsanklai wrote: post #278
scarface74 wrote: post #196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actually, three jobs ago back in 2015, I had two interviews. The first hiring manager asked me to do a merge sort on the whiteboard. The second company’s new director told me what problems he was having and that they were on an acquisition spree and what their plans were. He asked me how I would go about helping them. Both interviews were about half a day, I got offers from both the company that asked me to do a merg…

> Real business folks have real world problems to solve. They don’t care whether you can reverse a binary tree. I suppose it's all about the role you're applying for. There are "real business" where engineers are hired to solve technical challenges. Being able to solve simple algorithmic problems is a legitimate prerequisite for this type of role.

It’s not the role you are applying for. I’ve seen plenty of times where interviews were DS&A and the work was yet another line of business CRUD app. The job I turned down definitely was.

And let’s not pretend that all developers at BigTech are solving “hard problems”. I do have access to code for one of the major cloud providers.

Re: Aging programmer

#284

Post by cortesoft »

w4ffl35 wrote: post #171
StevePerkins wrote: post #97

I'm approaching 50. Just a scant decade away from being old enough to tap my retirement accounts and have the OPTION to retire. These next couple of years look like they might not be fun, but overall it looks like I'm actually going to make it. For most of my career, I've been told (and I believed) that I would probably get forced out of a hands-on individual contributor role as I aged. During the late-2000's, I even…

the thing that gets frustrating as i age are interviews and code challenges. i'd really prefer a certification that proves i can do xyz which i take once (per year? in my life?). then just decide if you like me based on personality and communication. i have over 200 repositories etc. its redundant, and random code challenges that differ from employer to employer prove next to nothing. 20 years ago it was the norm for…

I have avoided this problem by not interviewing anymore. Every job I have had after my first one has been going to work with someone I worked with before, and they recruited me so I didn’t have to do any formal interview process.

It has worked for me so far in my 15 year career.

Re: Aging programmer

#285

Post by remote_phone »

mixmastamyk wrote: post #155
remote_phone wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m also in my 50s. My last job search got me 6 offers, from startups to FAANG. I’ve only accelerated my career as I’ve grown older.

How did you get thru the endemic leetcode stuff?

I studied my ass off! I did 300 LC questions and could finish LC mediums pretty easily and I found that most companies concentrated on easy and medium.

Re: Aging programmer

#286

Post by Bakary »

dclowd9901 wrote: post #102

Didn’t know I needed a write up like this, but I did. I’m hitting 40 in February and naturally it’s causing me to… feel things. Lingering in the back of my mind since I started my career was a worry that someday I’d become too old for it. It still hasn’t felt like that as I’ve aged but nevertheless the worry still lingers. It’s nice to see I’m not alone in these worries and maybe I’m worried for nothing.

AI will most likely be a far bigger threat to programmers than age in the coming decades

Re: Aging programmer

#287

Post by WalterBright »

I'm over 60.

> Do people lose interest in programming as they age?

No.

> Is it accurate to expect that older programmers are slower,

I do think a lot more about code before writing it. I don't just starting typing in random crap hoping to feel my way towards a solution. Quick reflexes and high WPM typing is not useful for programming.

> make more mistakes,

Far, far fewer. In fact, one gets pretty good at zooming in on where the bug is in other peoples' code. It's a pattern recognition thing.

> and would rather be doing something else such as managing programmers?

No. Well, I would prefer to race cars.

Re: Aging programmer

#288

Post by [deleted] »

dijit wrote: post #2

Here’s something I think a lot of people don’t think on: 40 years old is mid-career. If you expect to retire at 60 (likely 65 these days) and you start working at 20: 40 is smack dab in the middle of your career. I think that notion gets lost when we talk about ageism in tech and then people talk about 40-somethings.

[deleted]

Re: Aging programmer

#289

Post by [deleted] »

user_named wrote: post #31
sys_64738 wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A lot of programmers who are 35+ can struggle to find further opportunities as the more senior you are the less available those opportunities are and the more expensive you are. Lots of companies only want young people who are naive and have limited distractions outside of work. So, really, programming as a field is front loaded and the longer you stay in the business over 35 then the luckier you have been. But make…

The same goes for EVERY profession.

[deleted]

Re: Aging programmer

#290

Post by RichardCNormos »

silvestrov wrote: post #41
sys_64738 wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A lot of programmers who are 35+ can struggle to find further opportunities as the more senior you are the less available those opportunities are and the more expensive you are. Lots of companies only want young people who are naive and have limited distractions outside of work. So, really, programming as a field is front loaded and the longer you stay in the business over 35 then the luckier you have been. But make…

> Lots of companies only want young people The older I get, the more I think it is not the company itself but middle-managers. Managers with an authoritarian streak will have trouble handling experienced developers that objects to non-optimal designs and processes. It is much easier for such a manager to handle young naïve developers that gladly accept to work 5 times as many hours as a good design needs. Software do…

I manage a couple of developers that are in their late 40s. It's great. I just say, "hey, can you handle this complex, ill-defined task?" and they get it done right, the first time. No real management necessary.

An older, grizzled, battle-hardened engineer is one of a manager's best assets.

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