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I started programming when I was 7. I'm 50 now and the thing I loved has changed

jamesdrandall.com

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Re: I started programming when I was 7. I'm 50 now and the thing I loved has changed

#441

Post by bayarearefugee »

reactordev wrote: post #349
goatlover wrote: post #312

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or perhaps they would have advanced the cause of labor and prevented some of the exploitation from the ownership class. Depends on which side of the story you want to tell. The slur Luddite is a form of historical propaganda. Putting it in today's terms, if the goal of AI is to significantly reduce the labor force so that shareholders can make more money and tech CEOs can become trillionaires, it's understandable why…

Reaganomics has never worked

> Reaganomics has never worked

Depends how you look at it.

Trickle down economics has never worked in the way it was advertised to the masses, but it worked fantastically well for the people who pushed (and continue to push) for it.

Re: I started programming when I was 7. I'm 50 now and the thing I loved has changed

#443

Post by sebringj »

idk, i'm loving the newness of all of it, I feel more empowered than ever before, like it's my time. Before startups would take like a year to get going, now it's like a month or so. It's exciting and scary, we have no idea where it's going. Not boring at all. I was getting bored as shit and bam, now i can dream up shit quick and have it validated to, ya i figured that out with an MCP so ya this is my jam. Program MCPs and speed it up!!!!!!

Re: I started programming when I was 7. I'm 50 now and the thing I loved has changed

#444

Post by orangecat »

JeremyNT wrote: post #149
bigstrat2003 wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If you were a smart dev before AI, chances are you will remain a smart dev with AI. I don't think that's what people are upset about, or at least it's not for me. For me it's that writing code is really enjoyable, and delegating it to AI is hell on earth.

This is a part of it, but I also feel like a Luddite (the historical meaning, not the derogatory slang). I do use these tools, clearly see their potential, and know full well where this is going: capital is devaluing labor. My skills will become worthless. Maybe GP is right that at first only skilled developers can wield them to full effect, but it's obviously not going to stop there. If I could destroy these things…

If I could destroy these things - as the Luddites tried - I would do so

Would travel agents have been justified in destroying the Internet so that people couldn't use Expedia?

Re: I started programming when I was 7. I'm 50 now and the thing I loved has changed

#445

Post by zabzonk »

lelanthran wrote: post #415
HoldOnAMinute wrote: post #411

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I cannot figure out what you mean by "BA" in this context

> I cannot figure out what you mean by "BA" in this context Business Analyst - those people who learn everything about what the customers requirements, specs, etc are. What they need, what they currently have, how to best advise them, etc. They know everything , except how to program.

> They know everything, except how to program

In my experience, they know nothing, including how to program.

Re: I started programming when I was 7. I'm 50 now and the thing I loved has changed

#446

Post by cstever »

mbesto wrote: post #430
bigstrat2003 wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If you were a smart dev before AI, chances are you will remain a smart dev with AI. I don't think that's what people are upset about, or at least it's not for me. For me it's that writing code is really enjoyable, and delegating it to AI is hell on earth.

Woodworking is still a thing despite IKEA, big box furniture stores, etc.

People will pay for quality craftsmanship they can touch and enjoy and can afford and cannot do on their own - woodworking. Less so for quality code and apps because (as the Super Bowl ads showed us) anyone can create an app for their business and it's good enough. The days of high-paid coders is nearly gone. The senior and principals will hang on a little longer. Those that can adapt to business analyst mode and project manager will as well (CEOs have already told us this: adapt or get gone), but eventually even they will be outmoded because why buy a $8000 couch when I can buy one for $200 and build it myself?

Re: I started programming when I was 7. I'm 50 now and the thing I loved has changed

#447

Post by PaulDavisThe1st »

So tired of this sort of complaint (and I'm 62).

The computing the author enjoyed/enjoys is still out there, they are just looking for it in all the wrong places. Forget about (typical) web development (with its front and backend stacks). Forget about windows and macOS, and probably even mobile (though maybe not).

Hobby projects. C++/Rust/C/Go/some-current-Lisp. Maybe even Zig! Unix/Linux. Some sort of hardware interaction. GPL, so you can share and participate in a world of software created by people a lot more like you and a lot less like Gates and Jobs and Zuckerberg and ...

Sure, corporate programming generally tends to suck, but it always did. You can still easily do what you always loved, but probably not as a job.

At 62, as a native desktop C++ app developer doing realtime audio, my programming is as engrossing, cool, varied and awesome as it has ever been (probably even more so, since the GPL really has won in the world I live in). It hasn't been consumed by next-new-thing-ism, it hasn't been consumed by walled platforms, it hasn't been taken over by massive corporations, and it still very much involves Cool Stuff (TM).

Stop whining and start doing stuff you love.

Re: I started programming when I was 7. I'm 50 now and the thing I loved has changed

#448

Post by cstever »

icedchai wrote: post #375
r_lee wrote: post #362

Earlier quoted context omitted.

but are employers going to be fine with that?

That remains to be seen. As long as the work gets done... Don't ask, don't tell.

It does NOT remain to be seen. https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/26/accenture-plans-on-exiting-s... Big players are already moving in the direction of "join us or leave us". So if you can't keep up and you aren't developing or "reinventing" something faster with the help of AI, it was nice knowing you.

Re: I started programming when I was 7. I'm 50 now and the thing I loved has changed

#449

Post by orangecat »

samiv wrote: post #314
shafoshaf wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[55yo] My sense is that those problems we worked on in the 80s and 90s were like the perfectly balanced MMORPG. The challenges were tough, but with grit, could be overcome and you felt like you could build something amazing and unique. My voxel moment was passing parameters in my compilers class in college. I sat down to do it and about 12 hours later I got it working, not knowing if I could even do it. With AI, it i…

That's because it's like summiting a mountain by taking a skilift to the top. You don't really need to put in the work and anyone can do it.

Sure, and if the reason you're going to the top of the mountain is to deliver supplies to people who need them, you should absolutely take the lift.

Re: I started programming when I was 7. I'm 50 now and the thing I loved has changed

#450

Post by pzo »

PaulDavisThe1st wrote: post #447

So tired of this sort of complaint (and I'm 62). The computing the author enjoyed/enjoys is still out there, they are just looking for it in all the wrong places. Forget about (typical) web development (with its front and backend stacks). Forget about windows and macOS, and probably even mobile (though maybe not). Hobby projects. C++/Rust/C/Go/some-current-Lisp. Maybe even Zig! Unix/Linux. Some sort of hardware inter…

Sure enjoy your retirement. But for me it's annoying some late 50s+ people telling what you just did. Think about people who are in their 20s or 30s - they are not even halfway through their path to retirement and some maybe even still paying out student debt.

> Stop whining and start doing stuff you love.

You have to understand that it's hard to do stuff that you love when you have to feed your family and pay mortgage or rent. Not everyone can be or want to be entrepreneur.

You are just talking from perspective of someone who already paid all debts raised all kids and now enjoying or soon will be enjoying retirement - at least meaning you can retire even if maybe don't want to.

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