Where Do Old Programmers Go?
Age!= Experience
Have you noticed at your place there are few coders over the age of 40?
That’s not even old, in the real world
So where are they going?
Probably dead
Read on, as that pithy comment is (mostly) wrong. Old programmers are around but perhaps not in the places you would expect them to be.
New Blood, Old Blood. Laying the groundwork for an industry unfriendly to experience
Some of the problems around older coders are mirrored with entry into the profession.
Lack of respect for experience outside the industry
Put simply:
We don’t care about your experience outside programming.
This stops those with experience outside the industry from getting a foothold as coders. There is a barrier to entry for experienced hires meaning software development remains a young man's game. In 2023.
Genuinely
Imagine a chemist who wishes to move into a junior software developer job. Their programming experience that’s struck off (code not in production). They’ll…
