are you going to stay a developer til you retire? other plans perhaps? your view pls

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jxharding

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are you going to stay a developer til you retire? how many years til you are 65 then?

other plans perhaps?

is the norm to be a developer, try and prove yourself and perhaps move into a technical lead or business leader? perhaps start your own business?
if so, have you given yourself a specific age to reach this ,
what are you gonna do if this does not happen at the planned stage?

your view pls, (idea is for an open ended discussion in possible future directions of current developers)
 
For me, I will continue to write small scripts for everyday stuff, but eventually all things lead to management, I have no specific timelines just learning as much as I can. You can't code everything so you will have to learn to manage people.

my 2 cents ;-)
 
I would like to always be a dev, but as debonair says, all things lead to management :(
 
debonair said:
For me, I will continue to write small scripts for everyday stuff, but eventually all things lead to management, I have no specific timelines just learning as much as I can. You can't code everything so you will have to learn to manage people.

my 2 cents ;-)
Click to expand...

I agree cant see myself in doing anything else although I am only a web developer one has to find your passion and go for it all out
 
Not interested in management but might consider team lead as I've always enjoyed a mentoring role. Problem is contracting basically gives me everything I desire & money's good so don't see myself doing anything else for a long time. I would like to specialise more but nowadays we're expected to handle everything they throw at us, besides we developer types are known to open our legs for anyone with the right paycheck, not?
 
Junior dev (21) -> experienced dev (24) -> senior dev (27) -> lead dev (29) -> architect or project manager (32) -> own business (35) -> retire (50) :)
 
Does sound like a good plan yes.

Is it really possible for most developers to become managers? I'm thinking that I've seen quite a few older developers at some presentations, and the few that I actually know well are not really equipped to become managers, tech lead definitely, but I've seen younger programmers pass the ranks of these individuals. Maybe they want to stay developers , I don't know. One guy in PE, (big guy wearing a cross) is prob almost 50 , one of the best devs I've ever met, and I don't know if he'll ever stop coding.

Seems one of the few options then is to start your own thing and be your own boss, but this requires some entrepreneurial skills, which is also another story.

So thus far its 4 options
1. Become manager/architect
2. Stay a dev
3. Start your own thing
4. Change careers.

Is the last one even an option? Will it be the hardest one? Going to study again for 5 years part time? Is this a popular route for programmers, iow what is the rate of developers studying something else later in their lives?
 
roguemat said:
I would like to always be a dev, but as debonair says, all things lead to management :(
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No not always. I was in management before I became a developer. I have no intention of going into management again.
 
I think I want to allways have the ability to code, so I would like to remain technical.

I'm 30 and have been a dev since I was 26 so almost at the level where I can call myself a senior dev.
I want to move in to architecture and design but still maintian the ability to code. I don't have issues with being management but not interested in doing admin.
 
jxharding said:
So thus far its 4 options
1. Become manager/architect
2. Stay a dev
3. Start your own thing
4. Change careers.
Click to expand...

Management can include project management, program management etc - not necessarily involve people management. Also include roles like DBA, Business Analyst, Systems Analyst etc which is more common for developers to move into

Market plays a role - there is a huge demand for business analysts for example, so you see a migration of (technical) developers moving into the logical / process driven world - happens at a junior to mid level though. On topic of market, I've met loads of developers who completed their engineering degrees, and unable to find work move into IT.

And of course, the market-related hourly rate of an architect is much more than a senior developer. Some move on to become consultants (ie doing their own thing) but this happens as (specialized) architects, not developers.
 
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By observation on hire resolve developers seem to hit a ceiling for their salaries (around 40k there) ... interesting thing is that they don't go higher than that when compared to other professions like engineering ... while it's just an observation it makes you think why there is that general ceiling in the 1st place ? ... you do get the odd exception that is paid much higher but those exceptions are few and far between

I presume that they either move into management/architect roles or they get enough experience to start their own thing?

My opinion is that the closer you are to those ceilings the more you have to think about what to do :P
 
efitol said:
Junior dev (21) -> experienced dev (24) -> senior dev (27) -> lead dev (29) -> architect or project manager (32) -> own business (35) -> retire (50) :)
Click to expand...

Living the dream baby,living the dream... Wouldn't mind if my future career turned out like that:love:Sound pretty awesome!
 
jxharding said:
Does sound like a good plan yes.

Is it really possible for most developers to become managers? I'm thinking that I've seen quite a few older developers at some presentations, and the few that I actually know well are not really equipped to become managers, tech lead definitely, but I've seen younger programmers pass the ranks of these individuals. Maybe they want to stay developers , I don't know. One guy in PE, (big guy wearing a cross) is prob almost 50 , one of the best devs I've ever met, and I don't know if he'll ever stop coding.

Seems one of the few options then is to start your own thing and be your own boss, but this requires some entrepreneurial skills, which is also another story.

So thus far its 4 options
1. Become manager/architect
2. Stay a dev
3. Start your own thing
4. Change careers.

Is the last one even an option? Will it be the hardest one? Going to study again for 5 years part time? Is this a popular route for programmers, iow what is the rate of developers studying something else later in their lives?
Click to expand...
Seriously considering no4. So tired of the code it's not even funny.
 
Will probably be writing code on my death bed:

public static void AARRRGHH ...

Or something like that.

Personally I view it as somewhat related to being a writer / novelist: why would I stop writing if I love it?

I wouldn't mind getting rid of clients though ...
 
i can definitely understand why people will code to the end
but im reconsidering, but its obviously an opinion and apparently there are 7 billion opinions so im not saying im right, im just trying to hear what others say

10 years ago i thought :
hell yes, im gonna code to death and keep up to date with all new technologies and take over the world

now :
how the hell am i gonna keep up with all the technologies till im 65? the talent from india is just amazing, and cheap, what if i cant land a higher paying job in the future because of these external factors?
will my brain be able to code as efficient at 65?
what if i dont get promoted to a manager one day?
what if someone else gets that job and you dont get the chance to gain managerial skills at the current institution and the next institution wont consider you a manager for lack of experience?

realistically : its going to be very very very difficult to change careers
 
Sheez...that is a difficult question!

Right now, I'm a senior dev @ 26. So I reckon will be a developer for the next 5-10years. Then its onwards into management most probably.

Along the way I'll continually try to get my own business up and running. I fully believe working for yourself is the way to go.
Code: 
while ( !( succeed = try() ) );
 
realistically : its going to be very very very difficult to change careers
Click to expand...

Depends on your responsibilities.

A friend of mine's father was in his late fifties when he realised he didn't want to waste the rest of his life in IT and is now swanning about in South East Asia teaching English.
 
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