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Ask HN: Resources for older developers?

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Re: Ask HN: Resources for older developers?

#121

Post by flakiness »

rlawson wrote: post #43
robopsychology wrote: post #10

Have you considered trying to organize such a group? Set up discord, invite your friends you know, ask them to invite their friends of a similar age, then share it on HN to make it a little more global :)

Well I was hoping to take the easy way out and someone would have done it already. But I'm not averse to setting something up. I'd like an old school forum type thing - but then worry about spam and moderation. Still it is probably worth doing

I think it's a good idea to start with your old work friends. Having a closed community might feel great (vs open "Internet" community) but it worked pretty well for me. Plus, your friends will appreciate the setup too.

Re: Ask HN: Resources for older developers?

#122

Post by bcrosby95 »

gardenhedge wrote: post #104
makz wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

37 here. I’m probably slower than in my 20s but somehow I feel smarter. I feel it takes me less time to learn new stuff and solve complex issues.

In what way are you slower then?

I'm 43 and probably slower in the sense that I'm slower at producing code.

I'm slower because I think more about the code I produce. I have a wider knowledge of the domain I work in, cross cutting concerns, and technical choices that I'm taking into account when producing code. So I arrive at a more-correct solution faster.

I would say the tradeoff is worth it, but of course I would because I'm not in my 20s. If faster while missing more security issues, performance problems, and corner cases is what you want, my 20 year old self is probably better.

Re: Ask HN: Resources for older developers?

#123

Post by throw1234651234 »

radicalbyte wrote: post #20
softwaredoug wrote: post #13

In my 20s I worried about losing my intellectual abilities in my 40s and 50s What you really just lose is patience for BS :) Sure, yeah, you lose 10% of your raw intellect if you stay healthy[1]. You probably more than make up for it in experience and wisdom. But hell the thing that demotivates me is the recycled insanity of large organizations, egotistical tech executives, hype cycles, and all the other BS. Eventual…

I'm 42 and so much better than I was at 22, but nowhere near where I was as an individual at 33. I blame the latter on having three small children. It has taken me a long time to deal with being only above average instead of someone people viewed as a genius. Not sure if I agree with the intellect loss - I've not lost anything, I'm just much better at juggling multiple things and less good at the math-heavy detail wo…

Nothing is impressive after you are 30. No one is impressed by anything other than maybe having a 100 million+ startup. When you are in your 20s, you are impressive and "have so much potential". After 30 you are just some guy who hopefully isn't old and incompetent as far as perceptions go. Same applies outside of programming as well, though I guess when you are in the top 5% or so, people are still somewhat impressed, but the bar is completely different.

Re: Ask HN: Resources for older developers?

#125

Post by GeorgeTirebiter »

JohnFen wrote: post #29

I'm an older (than you!) developer, but I have no special resources related to that. But for what it's worth, here's my experience. I've found that nothing is really much different being an older developer compared to being a younger one, aside from two things: I have a lower tolerance for bullshit, and I have a much better handle on what my time is actually worth to employers. While ageism is certainly a thing that…

"take a good look at me, because you will be me sooner than you think".

I add: "IF you are Lucky!"

(Are you feeling lucky, punk? ;-) -- Thanks Dirty Harry! This part does NOT get voiced!)

Seriously, agree completely with this comment. I'm, ahhh, 'more experienced' than many here, if experience is measured in years.

And that's my top suggestion: make sure that 10- or 20-years' experience is NOT 10x or 20x 1-year experience. Aggressively keep learning, and improving. e.g. today if you're NOT using Copilot -- why not?

Except as noted, re: ageism, it has only gotten better for me as a dev. Enjoy and celebrate that.

Re: Ask HN: Resources for older developers?

#126

Post by dlivingston »

lelanthran wrote: post #118
Balero wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How much of this "less raw brainpower" is due to age, and how much is due to potentially having a less focused mind? I have massively noticed issues with my concentration, and I don't think it's due to age, so much as to watching Youtube and reddit. I guess what I'm getting at is it's sometimes hard to untangle what changes are due to getting older, and which ones are due to the world changing. For me it's boredom, I…

As far as maintaining focus goes, I had a lot of trouble doing so after 40. I wrote a small program[1] to help me maintain context between different projects, and I'm now more productive than I was in my 30s. [1] I tried all the personal task management and task tracker tools, even wrote a few of my own. It turned out that my brain works differently to how the tools want you to work. My new tool which works well to k…

Can you give some details on your tool? I've played the "productivity app whack-a-mole" game, too, and always walk away empty. I just stick with a pen and paper, but I'd love a digital solution.

Re: Ask HN: Resources for older developers?

#127

Post by bastardoperator »

latchkey wrote: post #85
superchris wrote: post #35

I just turned 50 in October, and have been coding my entire career plus. I still love and enjoy coding, and feel like I have more to contribute by far than I did early in my career. I have founded a smallish dev studio in Cincinnati (Launch Scout) that I started with a few other developers in 2009. I've tried a few different roles as the company has evolved, but eventually realized that I love coding and helping othe…

> I just turned 50 in October I'm turning 50 this month and a professional developer since I was about 21-22. > I think the lack of TDD being as widely adopted Hilariously, I just got -4'd (and a whole thread) for asking why someone didn't just write tests, instead of building some half baked tool to debug their websocket app. The responses were all sorts of absurd excuses. I'll happily take the negative karma, cause…

I'm all about testing especially at the unit level but I've never personally seen TDD implemented successfully. I won't lie, I'll write my code, write my tests, refactor based on new learnings, check coverage stats, and PR for feedback. I'm also 40+ too.

Re: Ask HN: Resources for older developers?

#128

Post by MoreQARespect »

bastardoperator wrote: post #127
latchkey wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I just turned 50 in October I'm turning 50 this month and a professional developer since I was about 21-22. > I think the lack of TDD being as widely adopted Hilariously, I just got -4'd (and a whole thread) for asking why someone didn't just write tests, instead of building some half baked tool to debug their websocket app. The responses were all sorts of absurd excuses. I'll happily take the negative karma, cause…

I'm all about testing especially at the unit level but I've never personally seen TDD implemented successfully. I won't lie, I'll write my code, write my tests, refactor based on new learnings, check coverage stats, and PR for feedback. I'm also 40+ too.

I've seen it done properly with unit tests on algorithmic or decision making code (parsers, calculators, complex, deterministic thinking code).

I've seen it done properly with integration tests on integration code (CRUD, messaging, websites, etc.).

However, people do insist on writing unit tests on integration code and when they do it, it all goes horribly wrong.

Re: Ask HN: Resources for older developers?

#129

Post by wduquette »

calderwoodra wrote: post #50

I'm younger than most of the folks commenting here, but I've noticed very clearly that my eyes aren't nearly as strong as they used to be. I'm wondering how older folks deal with this beyond just wearing glasses. Additionally, some other things I'd like to learn about: Any subreddits geared for older developers? Any supplements that are great for older engineers/knowledge workers?

I have my regular glasses and my computer glasses (actually, two pair of those, one for work and one for home). For me, the computer glasses get the job done.

Re: Ask HN: Resources for older developers?

#130

Post by kqr »

bcrosby95 wrote: post #117
softwaredoug wrote: post #13

In my 20s I worried about losing my intellectual abilities in my 40s and 50s What you really just lose is patience for BS :) Sure, yeah, you lose 10% of your raw intellect if you stay healthy[1]. You probably more than make up for it in experience and wisdom. But hell the thing that demotivates me is the recycled insanity of large organizations, egotistical tech executives, hype cycles, and all the other BS. Eventual…

My biggest "problem" was when I had kids. I used to spend a lot of my free hours not directly working, but thinking of work problems. So I'd be playing a video game, at a party, or whatever, but in the back of my head I was also thinking of work. After kids those unpaid thought cycles are spent on how I can help my kids grow into better adults. It actually forced me to change my work habits a bit. Before I could be l…

I have a similar experience except with a different outcome. All that thinking about how to be a better human somehow, strangely, is translateable to better (software) product development. I spend more time understanding people and their desires and less time chasing shiny technology.
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