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One thing that I've heard a lot over the years is that those working in the IT world generally don't make life time careers out of it, but tend to "burn out" and start a new career doing something else unrelated (e.g. going from software development to being an accountant).
Have you found this to be generally true in your experience and if so, what is the general impression on how long people work as developers before starting a new career?
I've been in software development all my working life from junior developer, through senior developer to team lead/manager and now back developing (though hoping to get back into management sooner rather than later).
My working life is now nearly 40 years and in that time I've changed domains and technologies as the companies I've worked for have changed. I've then used that new experience to find new positions when I've had to, which has in turn led to other new domains and technologies.
All that time I've known developers as old or older than me.
I think "burn out" happens if you try to do too much - working 12+ hour days and/or weekends for extended periods and happens in any industry not just computing. I know that if I had to do that I'd be looking for something less stressful to do.
If you find a working style that fits your temperament then there's no reason why you can't continue working until you retire at 65 (or when ever).
In my field, embedded systems, I've rarely met anyone younger than 40. At my startup we've had four different contractors at various times besides myself, and three of the four were over 50.
I'm over 60 and have no plans to retire anytime soon. (Well I might semi-retire and cut back to 40 hours a week someday.) I've been doing this type of work for nearly 40 years and it's still fun. Some days I can't believe I'm getting paid to do what I do.
I know there are some younger guys entering the field, because I've seen them post over on the Electronics and Robotics SE site. There was a question re level of electronics experience, and just about everyone that answered was doing some type of embedded work. Experience ranged from those just graduating to old-timers like myself. Many had a combination of EE and CS degrees like I do.
This is a pretty demanding career if you don't love it.
I think you see a lot of people who get into programming for the money, but when they realize how difficult it is, they quickly look to move into management.
If you don't love it, it's a pretty fast treadmill to run on.
Well, I started programming as a hobbyist in high school in 1971, and professionally in 1985, when I dropped out of a doctoral program in chemistry at 27. So that's 39 years hobbyist, and 25 professionally, and I'm 52 now.
Yeah, I tried being a manager and an entrepreneur, and I suck at both of them. So for the last ten years I've stuck strictly to programming, which I'm not only far better at but make way more money doing.
I expect to be tottering around open-source conferences and hackfests with a walker when I'm 90. For some folks, it's a profession or a career, but for me it's a calling. I'm constantly astonished people pay me (and well, too) to do something that's so much fun, and they'll pry the keyboard from my cold dead fingers.
In my experience this is not true, although I realize now that I do not know a lot of old developers. The oldest one I know is just over 40 years old, and he's still keeping up with new technologies.
While most of the people I know in the IT industry are in their late 20s or early 30s, I don't think this is because everyone who's older have burned out - more likely it's because the industry has grown so tremendously the last 20 years, and there has been such a need for more people that has been filled by younger people.
So for many in the IT industry there have not been enough time yet to have a lifetime career yet. Although there have been times where I have considered doing something completely different, this has just been a consequence of being close to burning out, and I'm much happier now that I've changed my working style. I'm pretty sure I will have a lifetime career in the IT industry, in some way or another.
I've found that for many colleagues that once they've started families they start thinking about new careers / getting out of IT. This is often due to the hours they are 'expected' to work and/or the mental pressure of looking after new little 'uns and trying to keep up with a fast moving industry.
I'm not necessarily agreeing with the reasoning, but that's what fireside chats at the pub are telling me.
I'm not sure what the actual numbers/percentage would be, there are still plenty of developers who stay in this career for a lifetime, and they're valuable resources in my opinion (I've been lucky to have great mentors).
Interestingly, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has statistics on the number of jobs a person holds in a lifetime, but does not have any statistics on how many times a person changes careers.
They never attempted this for a couple reasons:
There's no consensus among economists, sociologists, etc. as to what constitutes a career change. E.g., if I get laid off from my programming job, start a lawn care company, then get a new programming job two years later, did I change careers?
It requires a longitudinal study: following the same person over the course of his entire life.
Regarding burnout, the Psychologist Jon Snodgrass said "Work that is not personally satisfying reflects a basic conflict you have with yourself. You may think the conflict is caused by your career, and that if you change careers, the conflict will go away. But, you cannot pick the right career without first resolving the inner conflict."
Well, personal experience counterpoint. I'm rapidly approaching 40 (a few months to go) and am looking for a way out of development because ... I've just had enough. I work in a great place with interesting people, but find programming itself to be frustratingly grey, drudging and uninspiring work for me. (Other people's experience, thankfully, differs!)
It is really fantastic to read the experiences of people who are lovingly engaged in the crafting of software; people for whom the work is fulfilling and inspiring. I have friends who just love development, and who relish the challenges it presents. But I am not one of those people. It's not that I can't do the work -- hell, I wouldn't have survived a dozen + years in this business if that was the case. I just don't like it.
As for me, I'm busy trying to navigate my way back into my first career (which I foolishly left when I found that (a) I could program, (b) people would willingly pay me for this, and (c) I needed to pay the rent). So I'm heading back into research science, and the warm feeling that fills me when I walk into the lab, when I talk with colleagues in that space, and when I apply my mind to the challenge of unraveling how the world works, and where I use reasoning and analytical skills (at least) as challenging as in software, tells me that this really is about different careers appealing to different temperaments.
So this "old" programmer is just busy reinventing himself and moving on :) (Even though that will mean something of a financial risk) Pax
My father is a developer and he is 60 years old, he started at his late 20s. He is working freelance for his old company now, and he has become more of a manager, but he still enjoys developing though. I think he will continue till his death.
Update: He quit programming at 63.
The following is my personal opinion - All figures are based on my own experience and may not be scientifically correct. Observations are geographically biased.
Your observation is correct. Many people will either burn out or will have obsolete experiences within 15 years or so unless:
A) They have very good IQ and
B) Work very hard
C) Maintain an excellent track record
D) Gain marketable skills with experience
E) Have good network
The reason many leave the career may be (not an ordered list)
There is not a continuous demand on old technologies
Many technologies become old fast and rarely used outside of the maintenance work
The 90s made lots of older technologies near obsolete (with the exception of few golden years near Y2K)
Most companies don't train people in core techs. They can get any skill in 1 phone call
Training path in core technologies takes too long and too much
Many jobs are contracting jobs, the older you get the more secure you want to be
Even if you learn the next technology, it will last you only 5 years or so (on the average)
Recruiters can't appreciate old experience almost at all
Recruiters are the front end for many employers
It takes a higher IQ to understand today's tech.
Most employers want a CS degree or the likes - Older folks did not use to require those
If you are 50 chances are you don't want an arrogant 25 years old to boss you just because he knows CSS 3.0 and you don't!
Outsourcing affected local demand
Competition is tough
Most worthwhile applications have already been built (SAP, etc.) - Ready made software is everywhere
Moving to other related disciplines is not that easy. Certification and demand of very good experience is a barrier in many cases. For example, those who can't do HTML/CSS can't become DBAs overnight.
I don't know anyone who has burnt out in IT. The stories you hear are largely from people who were, shall we say, obsessed and yes people like that burn out but it's not specific to IT and it's very rare.
I know a couple of people who've gone on to do different things but generally that was because it was more appealing to them rather than anything preventing them carrying on in IT.
I've been working in IT for nearly 20 years and have no plans to stop and see no reason why I should want or need to.
I did the opposite. I used to teach students with special needs and decided I was not going to be able to do that until retirement. Fortunately, I was able to stop before I burned out and have no regrets about my previous career.
There's the fear that I will be perceived as not being able to keep up(Always wonder if there are people out there smart enough to hire me ;) ) or worse discovering for myself that I can't handle the new technology.
As far as the long hours, hopefully you'll be a better programmer 10 years from now. I'm not going to beat myself up because I can do more in 8 hours than others do in 12 (I suggest they have the teacher put them in a slower reading group.). Even in IT you have to "walk through a lot of snow to get to the cabin" but the amount of B.S. in other fields is unbearable.
I think it depends which industry you are working in. The nature of the working conditions in a bank say, is rather different to a .com style startup or a goverment institution even if you are doing essentially the same job. I certainly found I was far more stressed at the end of a week working at an investment bank than I was working for a DVD manufacturer even though my job was basically the same.
I am hovering with over 14 years now from graduate developer to lead developer and solution architect. I have always found projects that are no just maintenance but new development/migration in new technology and I absolutely love it. There are couple guys in my team whom we recently recruited and are 40+ years and they are up to date on new technology. But yes you have to be passionate, read voraciously, see videos, follow blogs, go to user groups and conferences to keep on with continuous learning.
