Well, for one thing, the total number of digital computers in the whole world increased by a factor of about a hundred million.

What changed over the last 50+ years in computing that might raise expectations for programming experience? The personal computer "revolution" of the 80s and 90s would like to have a friendly word with you. :)

Computing as a whole has changed. We are comparing a time (then) when physicians and mathematicians were the ones laying the ground work for what we have today to a time when people start programming to make video games and cool websites (today).

Also, getting experience back then was fairly difficult. Just getting your hands on a computer to get the experience would have been a challenge. Compare that to today where there are kids, literally kids, programming at home right now. For example, I started programming when I was 17.

Probably the availability of people with 5+ years of programming experience. It was 1959! :)

I don't know. Essentially every place I've contacted I've asked about that clause. Not one actually expected to find it, but they all listed it.

5+ years seems to me to be a strange expectation. That would mean you've had either multiple failing jobs and might be an undesirable, or you've been somewhere for 5+ years. If you've been there for 5+ years, what's motivating you to leave? Where do people expect to find these vast pools of highly-skilled jobless people who have experience with <software stack X> in <field which employs a couple thousand people nationally> within <narrow time window>? That they never find any seems to underscore how irrational the 'requirement' is in the first place, but I see it everywhere.

I remember reading a job ad back in 2003 that wanted someone with 5+ years of C# and .NET experience. I assume the position was filled before 2006. (It's possible but unlikely that they were solely looking to poach Microsoft employees.)

This happens a lot. HR ends up being in charge and comes up with requirements that don't make much of any sense.

I think it's breaks down like no experience = SDE 1

2 years = SDE 2

5+ = SDE 3, regardless of language.

I am not sure if you are serious or not, but the post is from 1959. Experience in what they wanted was probably a lot more rare back then.

I think it's similar to the over-education problem. Oh, everyone has a bachelor's (2 years experience) now we need everyone to have Master's degrees (5-8 years experience).

I'm actually curious if one day there won't be a reversal of the trend...I would think it would be at the point where supply no longer meets demand. But really, who knows.

Programmers need far less education now than they did then, on the other hand.