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Is being a programmer a good career?

Advice for young programmer looking for a new career

  • Hey guys, this is my first question. It's a career question (yawn, I know!)I've been working as a software engineer for the past two years. It's a decent job and I like my coworkers, but I'm feeling a bit anxious about my future prospects. This crystallized last week when I had to explain to a coworker of mine that a technology he had specialized in for a number of years was now obsolete. No big deal, right, it happens all the time...that's the nature of the beast. Except the realization dawned on me that this guy, who had about a decade's worth of experience beyond me, didn't really appreciate what it meant for him to lose the value of all of that experience. And maybe that was why he was still a developer. So I've resolved to get out of programming. I am unsure of the next steps however. The path of least resistance would be to get some sort of business job, probably consulting. This seems equivalent to programming in terms of hours worked and wage, but it has the added benefit of being a "face" and getting work product associated with your name. Being a faceless programmer, it's tough to get recognition and advance. Then there is the nuclear option - medical school. I completed the science pre-reqs in college and have competitive stats, so this isn't a pipe dream for me. I didn't pursue medicine straight out of school because I wanted to test the waters in business. The draw for medicine is that it's really the only true career, in that you can work at it for as long as you choose. The downside are the hours and the loans. I'm paying off some undergrad loans now and know how much that sucks, so I appreciate what it means to be a slave to the bank. Any career switchers have any insights on this? Medicine is obviously the more drastic choice and would force me to ride it out in a medical career until I retired due to the huge investment up front. But business could be unstable and leave me 55 years old and unemployed, which is sort of what I'm trying to avoid in the first place by getting out of programming. I guess I could just stay a programmer, be frugal, and start buying condos to rent out...Whaddya think?

  • Answer:

    I'll try to say what I believe smcameron was saying in a hopefully more polite way: Having a long, successful career as a software developer means knowing what coding means. The language you code in, where that code is run (VM, browser, heck the actual fricking 0s 1s on the chip), and where the code gets used is inconsequential to being a kick-ass programmer. Good programmers know how to write good code in the language that's fashionable at the moment. The best programmers always pick up a book on the next language or technology coming down the pipe, figure out how it works, how it's going to be most efficient, and are prepared for their next challenge. If you think you're going to be obsolete in two years because you think the current language, technology, chipset, whatever, is going to be obsolete in two years then I will unfortunately have to agree with smcameron: you have not grasped what programming is truly about and perhaps you do need to find another career. If you love to write code and love to build and ship software, again, no matter whether it's on a mainframe, PC, Mac, browser, or whatever comes next, then you will keep learning the next Big Thing (which, trust me, underneath it all is really the last thing you knew, but with different paint on top), more importantly you will LOVE doing it, and you will stay relevant and useful and recruiters will call you constantly. Sorry to be so blunt. I'm going into my 20th year developing software and my husband is about 10 years ahead of me. We may joke about the attitude of the kids gettin' out of college these days and playing on our lawn, but we're not obsolete. So here's my advice: Do you love writing code? If yes, keep reading. If no, look into other career options. Find a mentor and/or talk to other senior programmers who have worked at various types of companies. Ask them what it's like to be in it for the long haul. Tell them your concerns. They've probably had them too. Stay on top of new technologies by reading books, websites, etc. Have a hobby of trying out new languages and tech in small side projects. Read about other software, consulting, tech companies that you may want to work at even if you're not ready to change jobs. Read their job listings: what skills are they looking for? By the way, this advice is relevant to all careers. If you don't stay on top of the latest trends you won't stay relevant. If you don't find it interesting to stay on top of the latest trends in your career, then you may have the wrong one. Good luck.

Triumvirate at Ask.Metafilter.Com Visit the source

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[Post fixed, comments removed. Carry on.]

cortex

"And maybe that was why he was still a developer." That you are capable of writing this sentence tells me that you are not developer material. If you were, you could not write that sentence non-ironically. That you have resolved to get out of programming is a good thing. You're not a programmer, and you never will be. I don't care what you do, but leave programming. You're not good for it, and it's not good for you.

smcameron

Thanks Salvor. Yes I am happy with my career. I definitely know that medicine would require more time from me than my current job + staying current. It's just that it seems like middle-aged guys in tech hit a wall that's pretty tough to overcome. Doctors get around this by manipulating their labor market. I think being a sixty year-old doc who can sign up for shifts and work as much or as little as he/she chooses would be a very satisfying final act to your career, rather than cleaning out your cube during a recession because you became too expensive.

Triumvirate

Do you want to be a developer? If so, go get a job at one of the big (market cap greater than $1 billion) software or technology companies. Most of these companies have a developer career path that ends with something like a distinguished engineer role 20-30 years down the path. If not, what do you want to do?

b1tr0t

Medicine is a draw. I always thought I would become a doctor growing up. That's why I was on the premed track. But then I balked when I found out how much time it takes up, and how it's basically just another job and not what you see on TV. One thing I miss in my programming job is human interaction. I like the guys on my dev team and we talk daily, but we talk shop. I think I would like having a stream of new people from diverse backgrounds come to me and stimulate me. Also working with nurses, techs, administrators. Being a programmer you're in a tech bubble. But socializing could be found in a business career as well, and probably in more abundance and at less cost.

Triumvirate

That you are capable of writing this sentence tells me that you are not developer material. Hard to say. Triumvirate may have only worked for companies where the developer role has low prestige and little career path. Kind of like being a finance person in a tech company.

b1tr0t

If medicine really appeals to you, you could try looking into becoming a P.A. or some kind of nurse instead of a full blown MD. Less time at school would mean less in loans, and you would still be making good money when you're done. I've actually heard rumors that some nurses end up with a better lifestyle than the doctors that they work with because those doctors are spending all their income on student loans. I don't know anything about medicine or computers, this is just my opinion and maybe another point of view for you.

TooFewShoes

niccolo, Yes, if I stay as a dev I'll change companies. Good to know this won't be looked down upon after two years. You sound like you have a good thing going. That's great for a young guy in this economy. I also considered law, but the lawyers I talked to were even more down on their career than the doctors. Apparently there's a huge glut of lawyers, and it's hard to find work. The loans are a killer unless you get a big firm job. On the other hand you can get financial aid to go to law school if you go to a school ranked lower than your stats would suggest. Patent law is what you would do as an engineer. It's better than regular law since fewer people can do it. You would either write up patents (called prosecution) or argue for/against them (litigation). But apparently even the patent law market is getting saturated.

Triumvirate

WOW, I read this after work and all I can say is THANK YOU to all those who replied. I never thought I would get such thoughtful responses. This does clarify things for me, if you can believe it. Thanks again - this is such a great site.

Triumvirate

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