Re:Programmers: Before you turn 40, get a plan B
by timr on Wednesday June 10, 2009 @12:32AM
(#650579)
...but be sure to guess correctly! If you make a mistake and choose a technical specialty that isn't hot in a decade, then you're really screwed.
Re:Programmers: Before you turn 40, get a plan B
by azanar on Wednesday June 10, 2009 @01:06AM
(#650603)
I can definitely see how this force works against generalist programmers.
Come on now, what basis do you have to say that someone who is a generalist is unable to provide value to people through the software they write? Do people need to be excessively specialized to make something people will pay money for?
And for that matter, I could see the generalist programmer fairing better, because they don't lose the general theory things are based on while diving incredibly deeply into a narrow body of very specific knowledge. If the job/labor/consumer/whatever market presents some new area of need, they're in a better position to go learn and capitalize on it.
So specialize in something where those years of experience accrue to your benefit. 10 years of image processing experience will make you an industry thought leader, as would 10 years of cryptography or 10 years of compiler backend design. We aren't running out of applications in these fields.