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Older tech workers are tapping out early

seattletimes.com

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Re: Older tech workers are tapping out early

#11

Post by throwfaraway4 »

ErroneousBosh wrote: post #8

I'm kind of at this point. I'm 52, I have a child, I am not working on things I want to work on, and the place I work for is going in a direction that's taking my job further away from things I want to work on. So recently I thought, fuck it, I'll go back to fixing tractors. The money's okay, and people are *really really grateful* when you drive out to the middle of their field at 11pm to weld some irreplaceable bro…

Not fixing tractors myself, but there's something really satisfying about working with your hands and being outside with a desk job. Once I hit my forties my back and eyesight started deteriorating and I could tell I felt much better on the weekends from being more physically active.

Re: Older tech workers are tapping out early

#14

Post by x______________ »

throwfaraway4 wrote: post #7

I'll be hanging up my hat (mid 40s) in a few months after 20+ years working as an engineer. The culmination of having our second child, corporate politics, and the hustle of it all (false urgency/deadlines) led me to take a hard look at what we wanted and our finances. We were fortunate to live below our means and save during our careers and move to a lower COL state prior to COVID. Obviously a lot of the reasons rel…

> Coding agents have killed the craftsmanship side of the equation; sure you can still write it by hand..

It's the same for language. Now everyone is writing super smart things but there is 0 reasoning or understanding when you talk to or ask them them about it.

Re: Older tech workers are tapping out early

#15

Post by JohnFen »

fred_is_fred wrote: post #10

Tech workers are lucky that for many of us this is possible. You don't see "older nurses are tapping out early" because financially they can't.

> You don't see "older nurses are tapping out early" because financially they can't.

In the US, anyway, you do see that. Experienced nurses make money comparable to what experienced devs make, and as the doctor and nurse shortage worsens, making life harder for those that remain, more of them are deciding to leave early.

Re: Older tech workers are tapping out early

#16

Post by DANmode »

throwfaraway4 wrote: post #7

I'll be hanging up my hat (mid 40s) in a few months after 20+ years working as an engineer. The culmination of having our second child, corporate politics, and the hustle of it all (false urgency/deadlines) led me to take a hard look at what we wanted and our finances. We were fortunate to live below our means and save during our careers and move to a lower COL state prior to COVID. Obviously a lot of the reasons rel…

Well-considered as much as fortunate, I’m sure?

Re: Older tech workers are tapping out early

#17

Post by black_13 »

rekabis wrote: post #9

Sooooo… not only are companies kneecapping juniors by refusing to hire them, thereby starving the employee pipeline of future seniors, but now those very seniors are tapping out? Sounds like the entire software dev field is going to implode violently within a few years, causing many companies to go titsup due to a sheer lack of experienced devs. Only those who have a war chest large enough to allow them to pay throug…

[dead]

Re: Older tech workers are tapping out early

#18

Post by throwaway-blaze »

rekabis wrote: post #9

Sooooo… not only are companies kneecapping juniors by refusing to hire them, thereby starving the employee pipeline of future seniors, but now those very seniors are tapping out? Sounds like the entire software dev field is going to implode violently within a few years, causing many companies to go titsup due to a sheer lack of experienced devs. Only those who have a war chest large enough to allow them to pay throug…

You assume they won't be able to find anyone to come in at junior, midcareer, or senior levels in a few years (when you say the field is going to "implode violently").

Hint: they will still be able to hire people if they need them.

Re: Older tech workers are tapping out early

#19

Post by DaRaam »

rekabis wrote: post #9

Sooooo… not only are companies kneecapping juniors by refusing to hire them, thereby starving the employee pipeline of future seniors, but now those very seniors are tapping out? Sounds like the entire software dev field is going to implode violently within a few years, causing many companies to go titsup due to a sheer lack of experienced devs. Only those who have a war chest large enough to allow them to pay throug…

I can code and was planing on entering the field. But the writing was already on the wall.

Not being from the USA helps with this decision.

I was offered a payed internship at uk minimum wage. 18k per year at the time.

I got turned down because I asked how much. I was 25 at the time and trying to raise a family. After that the offerings got worse at the bottom. So it discouraged me from continuing with my degree.

I now code for myself and to automate my work. I get paid much better now than if I had of followed that path.

I can only imagine how the millions of cs majors are coping with this.

Re: Older tech workers are tapping out early

#20

Post by spl757 »

Car mechanics at dealerships are in shortage. You use a laptop more than a wrench these days, and they want people with tech experience now. If you are struggling to look for tech work, that's a tech-adjacent job market right now, at least here on the east coast of the US.
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