Question about the work of the programmer [closed]

Question

Hello! Here I am during the whole time that I do programming, I was wondering where programmers can work, for example, over 50 years old? After all, technologies and programming languages are developing, one is replaced by another, something in general becomes redundant, and it is gradually forgotten. But in old age, it is no longer up to learning a new one, and life circumstances do not always allow ... You can set up your company and then transfer the case to the hands of others, while the money will flow into your hands, but this is rare. So, what are your plans for your future?

Programmers do not program all their lives, and there are positions of programmers (which can be taken after gaining experience) that do not require further programming as such.
The degradation of thinking comes not from age but from the absence of thinking itself.
But experience shows that who thinks, he thinks all his life.
But to write something sensible and whether this makes sense, it is a completely different question.
@Softa it is, of course, not on the topic of this issue, but share what technologies you need to look at right now.

Deonis deonis 32.3k one 24 45 · Accepted Answer · 2012-03-15T18:22:05

My Dad (born in 1951) in the eighties worked at the Institute of Cybernetics, when the punched card was a high-tech gadget;) So now, when he is already 61 months old, he swims in all the innovations, like a fish in water. The point is, I think so not in age. Now it is fashionable, but at that time, people walked, as they say, by vocation. And if you find yourself in this direction, you will be coding until the end of your days))

I want to add that you will be coding only for your own pleasure
Yes, but the ancient technologies (the punch card you indicated) probably left a deep imprint on the understanding of the code and everything connected with it ...
all modern programming languages and frameworks hide a lot from programmers, so practically nobody knows this much, and programmers of those years understand how programs are located in memory, how the processor executes code, how processes and threads are created and destroyed, this is a HUGE plus!
@Deonis used to be lazy to comment, but thanks @Softa ... Since when has a punch card become a gadget, and how many years has this punch card been?
(From the past: a punched card is nonsense, but a punched card with a border overprint is yes!)

angry angry 5,855 15 56 171 · Answer 2 · 2012-03-15T18:29:26

In the company where I work (a very well-known international company), there are many people over 50. And among programmers as well. Although we use a lot of new technologies. They develop all their life, and therefore get used to the constant study of the new, I think. There are still some people who went to technical writers or testers. There are over 60 too :) We have a very small hierarchy, i.e. There is no huge number of bosses. Team lead deals with programming and management (and they are usually young). And over it only co-owners. But there are many companies (most often large, from 1,000, from 10,000, etc. people), where there are many heads of different levels, where people over 50 can find themselves.

One of my former lecturers, who are under 60 already, is engaged in small orders, he even had clients from Germany and Austria, from Israel, even though he doesn’t do it very well, but he knows his job!
Dear @Spectre, "... already under 60 ...", - yes he is a kid, in fact.
At 64, I was still taken and taken to programmers, and I was happy, until "fate knocked on the door."

Dex dex 8,630 3 28 57 · Answer 3 · 2012-03-15T19:19:47

Last year I worked with one lady at the age of, say, over 50. She once worked a lot in some specific companies, the summary clearly shows the change of some languages by others. At the moment, most of the work under contracts, on individual projects, earns money where it is necessary, like many here.

What was surprising to me, she absolutely did not know the networks. Our project, which is inseparably connected with networks, nevertheless, the manager took it. I had to spend some time to explain something to her, it was difficult to explain a lot, and some remained "behind the scenes". But to say that she is sitting idle or does not know programming is completely impossible. There is a lot of experience, optimization tasks click like seeds, there are ideas and concrete implementations. Constantly busy with something, a clear timetable has been drawn up, without this, unfortunately, there is no way to get out, a lot of time is spent on pereidy between cities, we work in one, we study in another, we live in the third.

Despite all this, the speed of learning, and indeed of work, is somewhat lower than that of younger ones, but it works purposefully, with less “error”, if you can put it that way. And therefore the time for longer training is compensated.

Talking about the abilities of people should be subjective, considering each individual. In addition, I do not believe that an intelligent programmer does not see a clear change in interest in the languages he studied earlier. And accordingly, having made some conclusions, we will come to the point that we need to look for / study something new. And it’s hard to judge yourself, who knows what will happen in the future, suddenly after a couple of months the concepts and programming paradigms will collapse?

I noticed the same thing - due to experience, programmers at the age immediately look far away and lay in their programs the possibilities of development, expansion, finishing touch.
And the youngsters write if only to work, not understanding to what jambs it will lead in six months, when it will have to modernize this nonsense.
Although at the same time, youngsters are more inclined to study new technologies, but this study is meaningless — recently, quite a lot of code had to be rewritten from scratch, into which its architect — a novice programmer — managed to embed five technologies that were not compatible with each other.

Barmaley barmaley 67.4k 6 56 134 · Answer 4 · 2012-03-29T14:04:07

I will soon knock fifty dollars and nothing work. He started with punched cards, with huge EC-1061/1035, then he moved to PDP / CM-1420, in his time he even worked with Cray'ami. The first time he touched Ineta, when many of you went on foot under the table - in 1993 (there was only one website in the country at Kurchatovsky). Well, in general, what to tell - everything was.

Of course, I’m already coding a little - this is more for the soul or to teach the youth. Basically steering projects + introduction + development.

According to my observations: the critical age of the developer begins somewhere in the region of the forty-forty. If by 40 you did not even become a team-lead, then you can already drain the water. Of course, there is a cloud of exceptions given by the people here, but these are only exceptions. The reality, alas, is such that after the co-development it is already difficult to find a job as a developer (but not impossible). Everything depends not so much on the qualification (qualification by this time on any already), but on the attitude to work and the ability to learn.

So my advice to you, my dear young developers: learn all your life - this is not shameful. Well, do not forget about a career - it’s important not only to be able to manage byte / bit streams, but also people. Managing people fry will be more difficult.

Aha, especially considering that the builder has already come down with Borland
@Barmaley, and Cray native (from under the embargo) or Electronics SS-BIS?

Basm basm 111 one ten · Answer 5 · 2012-03-25T09:05:28

Programming is like art. Either capable or not =)

Palmervan palmervan 8.526 3 nineteen 39 · Answer 6 · 2012-03-18T13:47:40

So, what are your plans for your future?

Well, I plan to sunbathe on the Canaries by the time of Poltos, while my corporation will contribute to the economy of the corporation itself, as well as engage in constant charity work and cooperate with government agencies to develop the state itself!

Of course, exaggeration written above is higher ... Honestly, I don’t think about what and how and by whom, etc. I will be in another 24 years! This is actually half of my life, and besides, 6 years ago I didn’t even think that I would be a programmer, so how can I think about plans for it?

ZY The average duration of men in our time is 48 years! So God forbid to live ...

Heh))) And why not think about the first paragraph seriously ???
You write:> The average duration of men in our time is 48> years Programmers, fully immersed in their work, live even less
Just the opposite: a person who is actively engaged in his favorite business, constantly working with the brain, having an interest in life and in the new, continuously developing, lives longer than others.
Apparently, stereotypes clashed here) There are progers that develop only in terms of programming (geeks / zadroty / fanatics, as you wish), they are less.
There are those who develop in general (programming, including), but for the sake of it they do not refuse from vacations, hiking in the mountains, picnics, etc., they are longer) It's simple) The fact that the level of knowledge is a little different, about I will not say a word.
@ Sh4dow if you answer more accurately about the clash of stereotypes then: there are programmers who are trying to lead a healthy lifestyle (do not plump, do not smoke, follow the sleep pattern, take an active rest, etc.), but there are programmers who do this.
So the examples will not say anything, it all depends on the person himself.

Answer 7 · 2012-03-15T23:22:46

It may be funny (naively), but I will give a small everyday example: I occasionally go to the father of my acquaintance (father for 60 years) to “interrupt the Windows”. This "father" before retirement worked as an electrical engineer (something like this). So, in short, in his old age, he began to do some engineering calculations :), and he studied the use of formulas in MS Excel (at our institute 90% could not). During the next visit, I saw his book on Pascal and, accordingly, suggested switching to Delphi 7 (I did not offer C ++). And what do you think, I come in a couple of months, and his prog is “nimble” by Accessʻu (you can forgive :)) and also asks: “can I share the functionality between the client and the COM server DLL”! From here I draw a conclusion: if there is a desire and brains, then there are no problems. And in terms of the development of technology, it is indeed difficult for this category of people to grasp innovations, but they are methodical and persistent in achieving their goals!

And what about delphi / c ++ - so old age should be respected, and not to slip such tools.
Maybe C ++ would be too harsh, but Delphi is not such a complicated programming tool.
Even though many now say that Delphi is gradually dying (and I agree with it to some extent ...), but I personally wouldn’t like to part with this medium, despite the fact that C # and Python are not so broke away from the delphi.
Delphi is updated almost annually; you can do almost anything in it, from sorting an array and ending with a COM server or a web server, for example.
@Asen "father for 60 years", "I personally would not particularly like to leave ... a COM server or a web server" - feel the difference.
Well, off topic, as far as COMs are concerned, the Python team (seemingly Hammond) argues that the python is the best tool for com’s - in c ++ (I think delphi is also there) it’s not easy to work with the heirs of IDispatch, VB is not suitable for heirs of IUnknown.
The fact that Delphi is not as popular as before does not mean that he is dying.
And it says only that other technologies appear permanently.
The presence of more or less brought, finally, to the mind of Lazarus says a lot.

spoil spoil 3,023 eleven 57 137 · Answer 8 · 2012-04-21T10:46:02

IMHO In 50 years, it is not solid to be an ordinary programmer, you must at least be Tim Lid, but rather a Project Manager with a big salary. People in their 50s (programmers) receive 10k greens in large IT companies and about 100 young programmers are subordinate to them. So, there is always something to strive for.

spoil

3,023 eleven 57 137

four
And those 50-year-olds who did not become Tim Lida (they didn’t have enough tims), where - to the janitors, or to drown in the nearest pond? - alexlz pm
Why immediately drown in a pond ?? ))) - spoilt
It is really interesting, if it didn’t work with the team lead, and the brains are no longer boiled to 40, then what to do? So get $ 1k? And there, after all, the children will go to the university ... I have plans to accumulate capital and open some business of mine, which can become a couple of politicians who bring "simple" profit. Or maybe this “business” will not be from the IT field at all)) Sitting in front of the monitor all my life is so-so perspective ... - Ray
Complete nonsense. All cannot be team leads. And according to their internal psychological data and the number of places available for team leads. - Softa

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semenvx27 semenvx27 1,861 9 20 · Answer 9 · 2012-04-21T12:07:05

So, to summarize: you need to become at least a team lead, it is advisable to break away from writing code, learn how to manage a team. The main thing is to be able to learn throughout life, not to lose the mood. The mind does not grow old. You can find an alternative job. What about pensions? I think there are a couple of options:

work "to the grave" xD
Create your company
Scob money, let's say 1-mln-USD, or sell the computer nafig xD
Do business in the alternative field (and what we programmers, people versatile))))
Find a job with a pension
Grow up caring children and just live
Combine several previous options

In general, the age for a proger is an exam for all his activities. Good luck!

@ semenvx27, aaa, that’s so much fun for the 3rd point!)) - Ray

avp avp 37.3k 3 35 90 · Answer 10 · 2012-04-05T09:00:37

50 years - not the limit for "creativity"?

If in quotes, then no limit. In reality, all really major discoveries (inventions) were made by people under the age of 35 years.

avp

37.3k 3 35 90

one
Thanks and to you) - AseN
Three times HA. Carefully look at the history of science. You are confusing with the other - if by the "age of Jesus" nothing has been achieved, then you will not achieve it. But this does not mean that all achievements at this age cease. - Softa
@Softa, you do not confuse the moment when a person really makes a discovery with the further activities of "bringing" him to the "academic community"? In order not to be unfounded, I’ll bring the first recollected names: Newton (IMHO Genius No. 1 of all times, well, he became interested in optics already in his mature years), Einstein, Mendeleev (just on the verge of 35) .... If you look at IT, Kray was 35 when they launched CDC 1604, and I don’t speak about the age of the true hackers from MIT (I think that they didn’t say anything). There are certainly exceptions (as is known, the rule confirms). - avp

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katso katso 10.4k 3 25 48 · Answer 11 · 2012-03-16T01:55:05

My teacher at the university worked until retirement! OOP taught and successful!

By the way, yes, teaching / science / simple “projects” is quite an acceptable option.

Ouroboros Ouroboros nineteen one · Answer 12 · 2013-08-27T18:56:03

Can the Google Play Market program on android do ...

Ouroboros

nineteen one

Bugagashenka :))) - zhenyab
A che. One of the most successful Russian android makers is a person under the age of 50. Read Habr. He has many interesting articles there. - Softa
You can, of course, that there is so much shit of all. - user6550

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Alexander Serebrenik Alexander Serebrenik 831 four ten · Answer 13 · 2013-10-31T03:03:01

A few months ago, there was a small study by Morrison and Murphy-Hill, which examined the relationship between age and activity at StackOverflow, used as a representation of the programmer’s knowledge. I strongly advise you to read it, but briefly the main results were as follows:

age is positively correlated with reputation
programmers around 30 focus their knowledge (low number of tags), by 40-50 their outlook increases, results for 60-year-olds are ambiguous
no statically significant difference was found between the reputation of more and less young programmers in the labels of new technologies such as clojure, django, git, jquery, linq, mongodb, ruby-on-rails, silverlight

user6550 · Answer 14 · 2013-08-28T09:20:37

"To become a leader", to establish your company - to whom how. Personally, I avoided it in all ways, because not mine. Although I tried. In general, some stupid (even childish) opinion that once a programmer, then Bill Gates or Ballmer :) I want to become a manager - go to the manager, study there ... Just learn, and don’t choose the IDE without mastering the simplest calculator.

PS I'm 43, I started with gw-basic, tasm and turbos. Mastering new technologies? With a good base, this is easy. Well, do not forget about "I knew where to hit" (however, there are discoveries even at that age)

Well, what am I talking about, these are “deeply perpendicular” things.
@alexlz, you just have to keep in mind that this basic fit in 4KB.
Not that the current conditions, with run and video courses :) PS I remember that my analogue of Turbo Vision in the "almost" final version occupied 12 Kb, but so much was
@klopp "current conditions" in the application, say, to microcontrollers with 2K flash / 128b RAM can also be interesting.
1) “At 50 years old, it’s not solid to be an ordinary programmer, you need to be at least Tim Lead" 2) "48 years old is not for programmers. But for people who drink heavily without a specialty," Would argue and what our years are.

BiMaWa BiMaWa 3,767 eight 23 · Answer 15 · 2014-07-18T16:33:39

And here I am, the code of the code ... I’ll look at my daughter, on her neuro development itself .... and her hands go down .....

Question about the work of the programmer [closed]

Closed due to the fact that it is necessary to reformulate the question so that it was possible to give an objectively correct answer by the participants of Athari , BOPOH , fori1ton , VenZell , Maxim Kamalov Apr 7 '15 at 12:19 .

Blocked by a member Nofate ♦ Apr 10 '15 at 21:11 .

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