19/05/04 09:13:28.41 Cp//nath0.net
>>139 >>140 >>141 >>142 >>143 >>144
I am 64. I wrote my first program in 1970 and have worked
as a programmer since 1976. Programming was a good career
choice. For many years I was a manager and pretty much hated
it and returned to programming. I quit my job and went to
work at IBM as a software engineer the year I turned 50. I was
the oldest person in my department, and was a bit of a father
figure to some of the kids there. Otherwise I did not fit in
and left after two years. I worked at about the same salary
on a job for the next ten years and now, at 64, I have a nice
job helping to translate COBOL to Java. I am still making a six
figure salary, but I will retire in 313 days
I'm in my early 40's, but I've recruited software engineers
for almost 20 years and I until recently I ran a large Java
Users Group over 15 years, which gave me quite a bit of
exposure to an older range of engineers.
I know many 50+ programmers who are doing quite
well (monetarily, respect, responsibility, balance). Some
independent consultants, some at startups, some with
big firms, etc. A fairly wide variety. Not all had to go to
management - in fact, I'd say most of the ones I know didn't.
The one trend I've seen is that older engineers that ended
up staying with a single employer for the longest
(say 10+ years in one job) generally have the most difficulty
finding new work when the time comes.
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