Should I continue working with dead tech, or bail out now?

Question

What do you guys think of working with dead/legacy or proprietary programming languages?

After working on it for a number of years, it seems like your chances of getting to another position is almost impossible because you're not up to date with anything and it's almost a throw-away on your resume.

Upsides:

• expert status: if you're one of the few experts on the technology it is good job security while the technology lasts.

Downsides:

• not a lot of flexibility for new career paths.
• It's a resume stain.

The question is: is it worth it to stick with dying technology or will I get screwed basically because I have no where else to go? I'm just looking for some insight from anyone else who's encountered this situation.

(edited by Mark Harrison to make it more clear what the question is... please vote to reopen if you feel this clarified the question sufficiently)

Answer 1

See this question.

It had a really good quote with reference to COBOL:

"Being a COBOL specialist is a lot like being a lion tamer. Sure, you can earn a lot of money, but the next place that you can work at is in Mozambique."

Answer 2

There is no one universal programming platform/environment. Everyone is niche. Some niches are bigger than others. Cobol and Fortran people still have their place. It is the duty of the individual programmer to do more than just code, understand his/her environment, and evolve or die.

Answer 3

While I've heard of, and witnessed, lots of people making a career out of owning some sort of mission critical legacy code, I've never really respected them or aspired to know what they know. Eventually the system will be eased out, whether in 5 years or 10.

Do you really want to be the guy hanging on to the legacy system for dear life? You're right, it's an unhealthy and co-dependent relationship. Ultimately there's a cost in life satisfaction - you're hanging on to something and not creating positive value. You'll feel that , and it will affect your life. It's not, after all, just a paycheck - human beings need some kind of job satisfaction and the knowledge that what they're doing is meaningful and useful. Do you really want to be known as "the guy who's been maintaining the MUMPS system for the last 20 years"?

If you're in such a situation why not use the ample free time such situations tend to bring along with them (especially if you're only there to "babysit" the existing system and keep it alive) to teach yourself something more marketable, and, more importantly, intellectually stimulating?

--btw, I've been in a similar situation a few times, built a mission critical system, eventually the job becomes "the system is fine, just babysit". I'm speaking from experience when I say that this is not a good way to live. In all of those cases I eventually left and was happier when I did. Good luck.

Answer 4

I think most programmers agree that working on old tech is boring, but the money can be really good. If you are one of the few that really knows something you are always in demand. I ran into a b-trieve expert that easily made more money than any other consultant that i have ever worked with. that was all he did, but he did it well and large coporations which can't move off of it easily paid whatever price he demanded. To answer your question about where he had to work. He got to travel all over the world. If you are one of the top 1% of people who know a technology, the money you make on it can set you up for life.