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October 26, 2005 9:34 AM   Subscribe

CareerFilter: I'm a programmer, server side sort of stuff. Where do I go from here?[mi]

It's sort of a two parter
1) What is my job track if I stay in this field? (As programmers get older, it's my impression they have to deal with all the young guns) Programming has always seemed to be a young man's game. I am still youngish, 29 fast hurtling towards 30.

2) Has anyone here used their programming skills and parlayed that into another profession? I mean, suppose I wanted to go into Dentistry? Well, my 5 years experience programming wouldn't be too much help. What sorts of work are there for people who want to use past programming in a future job?
posted by eurasian to Work & Money (17 answers total)
 
Dare I say.... management!

That's been my experience anyway, looking at IT houses. You either stay a code slinger or you blacken part of your heart and take your coding experience and manage other coders.
posted by cavalier at 9:47 AM on October 26, 2005


If you become a contractor, you step out of the career structure, and become more of a programmer-for-hire. Where all those 'young guns' fall down is that contractors are typically paid a lot more than permanent employees, and employers tend, therefore, to expect a lot more experience behind an individual. That's where age becomes an advantage. The downside is that, unless you strike it lucky, you'll move around from company to company.

They key thing, I think, is to be agile in terms of opportunities. Try to move to different technologies and languages, as you go from job to job. Build up your skills. That'll keep you current, and show that you can continue to apply yourself to new things.

On preview: My advice is to stay away from management. It can be soul-destroying unless you have a calling for it, and if you have a calling for it, why would you have become a programmer?
posted by veedubya at 9:52 AM on October 26, 2005


Why do you have to stop being a programmer when you get to a certain age? The more experience you gain, the better you'll be - that's something you will "have over" the young guns. When I worked in Japan, programmers were practically forced into management by the time they were 35. The few I knew loathed the change since they went from what was a creative job to a dull, report-making, challenge-free position.

If you enjoy what you do, keep doing it. If not, change. I find that rule works for me.
posted by FieldingGoodney at 10:09 AM on October 26, 2005


I'm your age, also a programmer. Can't answer the second part, because I'm still a programmer(!), but as for the first:

I've moved into a semi-management position, but still do lots of programming stuff. I get to interview people and make hiring recommendations that are generally followed, but don't have firing authority. In Canada at least, that makes me "not a manager" (from a legal point of view).

I also do a few things that are less fun (as I see it), such as chasing people to fill out their timesheets.

Other friends and colleagues in a number of professions are also moving in the same direction. I know folks that have similar levels of authority, some higher, some lower.

At the end of the day though, there's no reason to do something that you don't want to do. Nobody can make you stay a programmer, and if you don't want to be a manager, then don't! It won't be the end of the world. Just because it's the stereotype doesn't mean that everyone does it, just that it's put forward as normal.
posted by lowlife at 10:23 AM on October 26, 2005


It depends on what you want to do. I do server-side programming (hey and I'm 29, too!) but felt programming itself isn't going to be fun so I'm starting to diversity client-side programming skills as well as entertaining the idea of learning more about information design.
Then again, if you're happy with your path, you should be a senior architect. That seems fun. Or CTO.
posted by grafholic at 10:26 AM on October 26, 2005


As a mid-30s programmer I do work now with more people who are younger than me than not, however few have a strong background in traditional programming and almost none have any algorithm or optimization education. You can work at this level as long as you want, though you're going to find that many of our cohorts will walk away from daily coding to work up the command ladder. You certainly don't have to if you don't want to.
posted by phearlez at 10:29 AM on October 26, 2005


At 36, I've migrated my programming knowledge into a jack-of-all-trades. Rarely do I base any of my resume discussions solely on my programming knowledge any more. Back in the day, it was all about "what languages do you know?". These days, it's more like "in what environments have you had experience?" My resume still reads like a menu at a programmer's restaurant, but it lets me be versatile.

You may find some upward mobility in project management, rather than HR-esque management. Don't get into the "hiring people" angle, get into the "I know how to make this software from beginning to end, and I'm going to set up a list of tasks for these 5 programmers to get it done in X man-hours."
posted by thanotopsis at 10:40 AM on October 26, 2005


There is no such thing as a programmer who is too old. There is only a programmer who let the technology pass them by.

I'm roughly around your age as well and was one of those younger programmers once, but I'm quickly seeing myself become one of the older programmers now. Age brings experience which can be very valuable. However, being an effective programmer means constantly learning. There is no finishing point for a programmer since the field is constantly creating new technologies and obsoleting others.

My father has been a programmer since before you could go to school to learn how to program. He's worked on everything from punch cards, to large IBM mainframes to Windows programming, which is what he is doing now. I can't recall him ever mentioning he didn't enjoy programming and from talking to him now, he seems to be having the time of his life.

That isn't always case for older programmers. Some let the technology pass them by and as a result, they end up being obsoleted.

There will be a market for server side programmers for a while yet, but I get the feeling you're looking for a change of pace. I can certainly sympathize with that since I've gone through a similar phase myself.

Thankfully my current job has allowed me to work on a wide variety of programming projects, from some really low level boot ROM work, to kernel device drivers, to server side applications.

I think variety in programming is key and I recommend branching out to other fields of programming to keep your job interesting.
posted by johannes at 11:39 AM on October 26, 2005


If you like programming, why stop just because you're getting older? I'm in my forties and am one of the younger folks in my shop. As long as you keep studying and keep up with newer technology, there's no reason to quit. I plan to keep doing this until I retire (or I make millions from an IPO, heh).
posted by octothorpe at 11:52 AM on October 26, 2005


In answer to part (2), you could think about teaching computer science. You could also move into another academic discipline that uses a lot of computer models like neuroscience for example. I started a computational neuroscience PhD at the age of 27. Obviously this is not something to do if you are mainly motivated by money!

I have known some excellent older programmers and agree with other posters that there is no reason to do something else if you're already doing what you love.
posted by teleskiving at 12:58 PM on October 26, 2005


johannes, did your father ever impart any info on how he kept up? I am (gasp) 29 (and a server-side programmer) and while I'm no longer deathly afraid I'll stop being able to learn at some point, I am concerned I'll get sick of dealing with the people younger than me as I have little patience for them now.
posted by yerfatma at 1:19 PM on October 26, 2005


I'm 38, a programmer since my early 20s and for the last 5 years I've been a contractor. I now seem to be "typecast" into investment banks which means that a) I spend a lot of time away from home and b) earn far more that I ever imagined I would.

Basically I'd keep my skills as varied as possible and as upto date as the market requires and go contracting when you feel comfortable.

The real downside is that when I started contracting I was single, now I'm not and the time away hurts. The secret is to take some good personal time out (you should be planning as a contractor to be working 9 or 10 months a year) and have some fine holidays (we're going to St Lucia for a fortnight for example).
posted by hardcode at 1:33 PM on October 26, 2005


Software architect.
Technical program manager.
Manager (ick).
Consultant.

I'm *koff* in my late 30s, have been a coder/software developer/software engineer for about 7-8 years, and will probably do the same for another 3-5 years. If things look right at the time, I may head towards being a software architect, most likely, or maybe one of the other things listed above, but not manager.
posted by matildaben at 2:47 PM on October 26, 2005


We never sat down and had a father-son talk about it, but I guess I did see what he did when I was growing up. I think the biggest thing was that he was just as curious as I was when I was growing up when it came to computers.

He was strictly a mainframe guy at the time I was growing up. Then when personal computers started becoming more popular, we jumped in and bought one. We first started out with an Atari 800, where I learned how to program BASIC and finally moved onto x86 PCs where I learned Pascal, C and assembly. My father was there the entire time I was just as curious and learning himself (and teaching me too).

I, like him at the time, have always had a big desire to keep learning more and often that would mean working on the latest technologies. It didn't always work out in the long run, my father was an OS/2 programmer for a while, but it certainly was never wasted.

I haven't had too many problems dealing with younger programmers. Often I see a lot of myself in them when I was their age. Lots of energy and good ideas, but not always the best idea. I'm not sure if you just feel intimidated by them, but you don't have to keep going to latest and greatest in an attempt to keep ahead of them young guys. There's a surprising amount of companies which are happy with their existing systems and just want to maintain them.
posted by johannes at 2:58 PM on October 26, 2005


No, it's certainly not intimidation. At one point I was reading a lot of hiring blogs (when we were doing more interviewing) and I came across a couple of entries complaining about The Youth of Today and their need for incessant affirmation, even when they haven't done anything positive. I come from a rough-and-tumble schooling and I can't stand when people cannot accept valid criticism without taking it personally (when it's not delivered in a nasty way-- obviously if someone's a dick about it's not going to be taken well).
posted by yerfatma at 5:06 PM on October 26, 2005


To me, it seems like programming is a bit like drumming - anyone can do it, but very few can do it well. So, if you have a passion for it, and you're still in the game at 40, I would imagine that you'll be making a lot of money and having a good time, to boot.
posted by afroblanca at 5:12 PM on October 26, 2005


Speaking from personal experience, there aren't nearly enough project managers with a technical background.
posted by blag at 2:42 PM on October 27, 2005


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