What is your programming career-planning for the future?

Question

Do you still see yourself programming in the next 20 years?

Who is the oldest developer you know?

Answer 1

I know a developer who had been programming for 5 years before he saw his first monitor. He'd be in his 60s now.

Theres not really a lot of places to go with programming. You can:

1. Keep programming;
2. Go into management; or
3. Change career.

The only thing I'll say about keeping on programming is that its a fairly low-stress way of earning a decent income. Not a fantastic income. Business people will probably always treat you as a cost centre and a replaceable resource but hey that's life.

And by "change career", I include everything from being a plumber to any other IT-related work such as testing, support, administration (network, database, systems), business analysis, etc.

Answer 2

The things I enjoy about programming are the problem solving and always having to learn something new every day.

If I get to the point where I feel that I'm no longer learning and no longer solving problems then it will be time for me to consider a change in career....or retiring.

However, while I will likely be involved in the IT industry in 20 years, I don't think I will always be a programmer. I genuinely enjoy delivering high quality solutions for whatever client I'm working for. At the moment I do that through programming...but eventually I believe I can do that by being a technical architect and then a manager.

An IT team needs switched on managers who understand the low level details of the IT industry...otherwise you run into the all too frequent problem of managers promising the client that they can do too much work in too short a period which leads to death marches and quality being thrown out the window.

Answer 3

The way I see it is this: programming is a skill, and in certain businesses it is an incredibly useful skill.

I also have other skills, and I don't want to limit myself or my career to that one skill.

By analogy, you could have a brilliant bricklayer, but it would seem rather a shame if he only ever wanted to lay bricks for the whole of his working life.

However, I think it is a fallacy to think you need to stop coding to do other stuff and move on in your career.

I haven't been just a coder for many years now, but I still code (really rather a lot recently to get a project shipped). I do other stuff us well though (management, product design, consulting etc.) and I wouldn't be able to do the other stuff as well as I do if I had let my technical skills fall by the wayside; which I think is easy to do for those who only see programming as a stepping stone. I don't really trust technical managers/consultants, who don't actually know what do do when you sit them at a computer.

I also think doing the other stuff, and seeing situations from other points of view, makes me a better coder.

Truly great programmers usually have other interests and aptitudes, which make them great multidisciplinarians. That's what I aspire to. If you look at the programmers who are considered successful, are there any who only code? At least they may have written a book (which is probably why you have heard of them), even if they're not Larry Page, Sergey Brin, or Joel Spolsky ;-)

That said, if you love programming, and that's all you ever want to do, that's fine. But then you will be like the bricklayer, who only lays bricks for all of his life.

Answer 4

People shouldn't forget that a good programmer will often advance to the position of a system analyst/architect. This involves focusing more on the design of applications, their interfaces or chosing the underlying technologies than really doing the coding in the end

Answer 5

I definately see myself programming for the forseeable future. Programming is essentially a method by which I get paid to play with puzzles all day long. On the scale of getting paid to do fun things, this ranks pretty high in my book.

I'm sure the type of programming I do will change as my career continues. But I imagine actually coding will be a part of it for a considerable time in the future.

Answer 6

Yes, in the next 20 years I still see the need to create programmatic solutions to various problems as my career. Exactly how much of the code I'll write may well drop to near nil, but in designing the solution and coming up with the plan, this is where I see myself creating a program that may not be what others see as a program.

I once worked for a developer that worked on Windows 1.0 and had spent years at Microsoft. Granted he may not do much programming these days, he probably still tinkers with this and that which he finds interesting. He would be in his 50s now I believe.

Answer 7

I can see myself programming in 20 years since I hope to continue learning for my entire life, and programming offers that opportunity.

The oldest programmer I know is my co-worker, who is a 62-year-old COBOL programmer. We're the only 2 programmers on staff at our company. He handles a COBOL-based ERP that was developed in the 80's, and I'm the young (24) fresh face who handles Windows-related development.

Answer 8

Yes, but less.

I know an outstanding 62 year old developer.

Answer 9

I know several excellent programmers in ther 60's, but they don't just program; they also design, coach, and lead. The best form of leadership is leadership by example. Strong programming and debugging skills let you understand situations first hand, effectively assess other developers, pitch in wherever and whenever necessary, and ask the right questions early enough in the development process to make a difference.

So while programming will not be the only thing you're doing 20 years from now, its an excellent base from which to expand your ability to contribute.