Do you see future for people of ages 40+ in Software field?
I’ve turned 40 this year. I’m on 100% tech role. I still write code more than anyone else in my team. I’m very active on tech community within my company. I preach gyan to younger folks, given my experience. Do you see future for us? Reply.
There are staff & principal engineers at my company; and there’s also senior engineering managers and directors at my company
All doing well. Definitely doable.
However, I have seen these people miss their kids birthday or having to call home to their kid saying they will be coming late at night etc. , all for a few extra crores, which is something I hope I won’t be doing
I still earn in lacs. Haven’t seen a crore yet..haha. Btw, I see younger people missing their family time too. I guess, that’s the default setting of any corporate professional regardless of the field they work on.
I hate meetings that are formal in nature. I love meetings that solve problems in real-time. Another reason why I switched my role from managerial to a tech role.
There are many more of your ilk than you think. In India. Including yours truly.
Great to hear. Are you in pure technical job out of passion? If yes then more power to you. There aren't many of your level and experience in the field so you have a lot of value.
Yes, I’m on a pure tech job on my own interest.
I had a short stint as Engineering Manager role a few years back. While that wasn’t any bad to me, I always endeared a tech job because nothing else gives you a sense of fulfillment than creating something beautiful with your own hands.
Being on a tech role for a long time gives me liberty to criticize the system of software engineering, yet appreciate its power to create something more meaningful.
Amazing! I wish there were more like you. If I may know, TC wise how has your journey been compared to someone who chose a managerial path instead ?
My boss, close to 54, does a lot of white boarding and getting involved in problem solving - although at his level he can't code because of his other priorities but is very much involved in system design.
I think this is eventually where most of us will get to - hands-on roles diminish with time but I get the love for hands on role & the adrenaline and dread the time where i will have to get into that zone.
Wow, that’s so inspiring!
for new folks software engineering in 2040 will be blue collar work
Then what would be white collar?
My ex manager retired in 2021 at 62. Even after his retirement, he sometimes call me and we discuss codes, new developments etc among other thing. He was one of the finest coders
Yes
It depends on the individual, the following factors play a role:
- Skill set
- Budget of the company
If the above two are fine then you can work way beyond 40. In the software industry, the skills matter way more than age.
I have a manager who writes code more than anyone in the company and is 60
