I just turned 50, and I still code and still love it. Like other people here have pointed out, keeping your skills up-to-date is key, and making a conscious decision to stay coding instead drifting into management.
A good way to stay relevant is to change jobs now and then (maybe every 5 years or so), and also using your own time to learn new things.
The problem with keeping your skills up-to-date is that many of the skills listed in laundry list job reqs are in things that have only existed for a few years. They're things that a sharp college kid can be just as knowledgeable about.
Re:Old Geek
by dunkelheit on Thursday September 15, 2016 @07:21AM
(#12505047)
Yes, definitely possible, kudos for pulling it off! But it requires careful long-term proactive decisions and actions. Which is not what most humans are particularly good at. That's why I used the word "scary".
When you are a junior engineer you just crank out code and the level and employability of your skills automagically increase. But after some time this free lunch quietly stops. You suddenly have to manage your career.
Right. People should be less concerned with competing with people in their 20s and more concerned with how they are going to keep up with the other people their age who instead of doing fun, hacker, startup stuff and chasing money spent their time being the "stupidest" person in the room and learning the (an) industry.
"Sliding into management" might sound like it's an easy path, but it's an entirely different profession. Only those who are interested and have the ability should ever consider this route.
I think both things are true. Plenty of people do slide into management, but only the genuinely interested should.
But what are the alternatives?
You are absolutely correct: You should only go if you are interested. But if your alternative is to be jobless....
Recently turned 31 and I too am scared of it. I think all software engineers / devs should think about FI/RE (financial independence / early retirement).
Or at least get setup, so you have money in the bank. You never know when you might need it later on in life. If you do experience tough times, for finding a job.
I love to build things and I am not keen on sliding into a management position. But this becomes the easiest career path once your soft skills start to increase to the detriment of raw coding skills.
On the other hand I've seen enough engineers with decades of experience who said no to going into management and who are now basically irrelevant.
Both these outcomes are scary but they seem to be the defaults for someone who goes with the flow.