Software development as a lifelong career?
Douglas Reilly recently posted an article called The value of experienced coders discussing the merits of experience and the short-sighted approach of pushing experienced developers either to sales or management. A rather interesting read, and luckily quite a bit shorter than my usual recommendations :-)
Not that I'd be close to even 40 yet, but the article did get me thinking. What is the career future for an aging software developer? Will the young necessarily replace him? How should the old fart make sure he gets to keep his job and stays valuable? Is he eventually forced to choose between his profession and glory?
I've had the pleasure of meeting some real professionals from various fields, ranging from metalworks and farming to coding and legal profession. None of the people whose skills I admire most work as managers or in sales – they're simply solid operators – might I say artisans – in their own field. It's a real shame if the software industry wastes this experience and potential in the search for short-term gains.
Even if it's evident by nature, I'll say it again: The industry needs to focus on building more diverse career paths. The industry needs the weight of experience to keep this thing in balance. While the youngest among us provide unparalleled energy, motivation and ideas, they are far too uncertain of themselves and their role in the world to build good and long-lasting products.
February 21, 2005
Posted in: Misc. programming
4 Responses
Sami Poimala - March 1, 2005
I don't think it is experienced developers that are being pushed to sales or management but greedy developers that yearn for higher salary.
I've seen some – well, not quite many but some – "old", 50 and over years old developers that have said "I just want to code" or "I'll gladly leave the sales and management to those who are able to do it".
The problem with few older developers is the "this has been always done like this" -syndrome. The experienced developers should still be eager to learn new things but also the younger developers shouldn't push their experienced brothers away. I have seen it too: "you are an old lad, you know nothing about software development today". This is not the way to go :)
Douglas Reilly - March 14, 2005
While it is true that some older developers do not want to learn anything new, it is also true that many younger developers do not want to either. Note the recent blog entries and petitions about keeping VB6 around.
Believe me, I was talking about developers (such as myself) who are willing and able to keep up on the latest developments.
Jouni Heikniemi - March 15, 2005
Doug, I certainly agree with both of you. See for some of my thoughts on the "I can't" (or won't, which is just another variant) syndrome; it's surprisingly common, and certainly not limited by age or profession.
Sami, re the salary question: I feel it's natural for people to yearn for some sort of recognition for their work. Salary just happens to be the primary way of doing it these days – it wouldn't have to be this way, but it's not like we could easily change it. After all, it is justifiable (at least to a certain extent) thinking that salary should reflect the productivity of the employee, and in this sense differences by organization rank are hardly explainable; a top notch developer beats a poor manager hands down.
Jouni Heikniemi - March 15, 2005
Hmmm… The url didn't get pasted into the previous comment.
http://www.heikniemi.net/hc/archives/000133.html was the intended address.
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