I did it for 41 years - retired about a year ago. My opinion is that it went from a prestigious line of work into a commodity. I also think that misuse of agile has really had a negative impact on the industry.
@@maxi459 In my experience, it went from a philosophy to a set of rules with which to measure people with. I have worked in places where agile was reasonably well practiced but, to be honest, I'm not sure it was really practical in a real world sense. To repurpose a well-known saying - no software methodology survives first contact with users.
Thank you for the presentation! I’m 35 and based in LATAM, currently working as a contractor. I often find myself questioning whether I want to continue in this industry, start my own business in a different field, or pursue another career. I truly love solving problems, learning new things, and especially building things. However, the pressure and stress of the industry sometimes make me wonder if I’ll still have the physical and mental stamina to keep going in 10-15 years. Hearing experiences like yours is incredibly valuable and gives me a lot to reflect on-thank you for sharing!
I'm 67 years old an am still programming. My enthusiasm hasn't waned a bit and I'm still running rings around most engineers of your age. Maybe it depends on your temperament, health and willingness. Don't stop until you actually hate it, IMO. I am taking more time off these days, maybe a day per week, sometimes two, with agreement from the firm.
I loved this presentation, thanks! I'm a die-hard frontend developer who is 67 years old and still going strong. In fact, my current contract at a large Telecom company was just extended for another year. Kept telling them, do you realize how old I am?! Keep the old brain cells oiled and running. Tackling complex problems keeps me sharp and feeling young. I am thankful I still do not have any major health issues, asides from hearing aids and arthrosis of the knee, and coaching the young whipper snappers is quite fulfilling. In my case at least, it's still possible being an old fogie programmer if you keep your heart in it.
This has been a great talk, Kate. From one Kate to another. I’ve been wanting to live in Canada. We’ll see if I get to do that one day hopefully soon. I’ll be listening to this one again. Reminds me strongly of the great advice from a friend 20 years my senior who’s still with us. Pure gold. Very encouraging. Love every word you said. Thanks❤
some things that help me: 1) have a standup desk 2) do exercises everyday (resistance & cardio) 3) stare off into the distance every once and a while (if wearing glasses take them off) 4) go outside at least a few times a week, bike ride/walk 5) 6-8 hours of sleep 6) having an air purifier 7) take one complexB & D vitamin daily (not sure if this helps I do it anyways) 8) learn something new every day
The hardest part of getting older in Computer Science is knowing that this good’ol company payroll for the 10,000 employees in your org does just the same as 40 years ago with 32kB RAM as today with 32GB. Just slower, with lots of JSON and configuration files larger than the business code. Still batch, though.
I've just retired mid-60s. It's probably a little earlier than I'd planned, but the overheads, the constant change, re-skilling, scrum, agile, kanban, Jira, Git and a bunch of other stuff became overwhelming.
@@AMSabuncu git is like math; you hate it until you understand it. After that it is the best tool ever, and you wonder how the heck you could live without it.
I'm 67, a few years ago, I developed cataracts. Had the lens changed with crystalline replacements. Local anesthesia no problem. One thing to note, the focal lengths are fixed, I had the dioptery reduced from 5 to 3, which means my progressive lens in the glasses are much thinner, and cheaper. But I'd advise you, get a pair of glasses specifically for the computer, the focal length needed is totally different from the regular lenses, it's actually mid-distance. Otherwise, you'll be looking up and down as you work between the keyboard and the screen, that's just annoying. I also use them to play piano.
@r_j_p_ I was spending 800 dollars every 2 years on vary focal. After I had artificial crystalline lenses due to cataracts, I spend 300 dollars, once! Until they get too scratched. I also spent 200 dollars on reading/computer glasses with fixed focal length.
In the UK, presbyopia is called 'long sightedness', and myopia is 'short sightedness'. It is possible to have both, especially when older - hence varifocal glasses.
Presbyopia doesn't refer to all causes of 'long sightedness', only the age-related loss of elasticity in the lens. Hyperopia is the general term for 'long sightedness'. Presbyopia is hyperopia caused by your lens losing elasiticty as you age.
I'm only 44, and have always had good eyesight. I can still see my screens fine, but I was building a model kit for an afternoon and got a bad headache. My speccy wife pointed out I might need glasses so now I have cheaters, don't use them much, but white reading my daughter Lord of the Rings in small print with a dim bedside lamp they have been very useful - as much as I hate to admit it.
What she ays makes 100% sense; you know all of it anyway, yet it's very good to hear someone else say it, and put it all into one place. But it's so Fing difficult. I have known all these things for eyars, but I cannot get myself to do any of it.
42:40 Introduces age discrimination. This is where the video really starts if you ask me. Everything before that is related to eyesight hearing and mobility, etc and is not specific to programmers.
You can start. 50s is still young nowadays. The number one thing would be to provide emotional support to the team because every setback and people will act crazy.
nah, one of my classmates in my CSE undergrad was a guy in his 60's who just decided he really wanted to learn how computers work and get a programming job, so he quit his job as a financial expert and went back to school just because he wanted to.
I always joked that when I design some piece of code, I design it so that it should work until my retirement, but I'm not concerned about what happens after. Case in point - Bug 2038, 32-bit time_t. According to my calculation I should be retired by then, so my time calculations were not taking into account the possibility of wrap-around.
I did it for 41 years - retired about a year ago. My opinion is that it went from a prestigious line of work into a commodity. I also think that misuse of agile has really had a negative impact on the industry.
Could you elaborate on the latter ?
@@maxi459 In my experience, it went from a philosophy to a set of rules with which to measure people with. I have worked in places where agile was reasonably well practiced but, to be honest, I'm not sure it was really practical in a real world sense.
To repurpose a well-known saying - no software methodology survives first contact with users.
@@robadobdobWas it Scrum?
@ we started on scrum and moved to kanban. That was at least an improvement.
Agile is institutionalized stupidity
Thank you for the presentation! I’m 35 and based in LATAM, currently working as a contractor. I often find myself questioning whether I want to continue in this industry, start my own business in a different field, or pursue another career. I truly love solving problems, learning new things, and especially building things. However, the pressure and stress of the industry sometimes make me wonder if I’ll still have the physical and mental stamina to keep going in 10-15 years. Hearing experiences like yours is incredibly valuable and gives me a lot to reflect on-thank you for sharing!
I'm 67 years old an am still programming. My enthusiasm hasn't waned a bit and I'm still running rings around most engineers of your age.
Maybe it depends on your temperament, health and willingness.
Don't stop until you actually hate it, IMO.
I am taking more time off these days, maybe a day per week, sometimes two, with agreement from the firm.
I’m 41 and this speaks volumes to me. Thanks.
I loved this presentation, thanks! I'm a die-hard frontend developer who is 67 years old and still going strong. In fact, my current contract at a large Telecom company was just extended for another year. Kept telling them, do you realize how old I am?! Keep the old brain cells oiled and running. Tackling complex problems keeps me sharp and feeling young. I am thankful I still do not have any major health issues, asides from hearing aids and arthrosis of the knee, and coaching the young whipper snappers is quite fulfilling. In my case at least, it's still possible being an old fogie programmer if you keep your heart in it.
Really inspiring comment. I do believe that it's almost entirely your mindset.🙂
Oh man you are older than JavaScript, HTML, and CSS 😊 so I don't understand the meaning of front-end.
Nice to make acquaintance with another oldy, I'm also 67 and still at it, still loving it too.
Really good and informative video! All people who work office jobs should watch this.
This has been a great talk, Kate. From one Kate to another. I’ve been wanting to live in Canada. We’ll see if I get to do that one day hopefully soon. I’ll be listening to this one again. Reminds me strongly of the great advice from a friend 20 years my senior who’s still with us. Pure gold. Very encouraging. Love every word you said. Thanks❤
some things that help me:
1) have a standup desk
2) do exercises everyday (resistance & cardio)
3) stare off into the distance every once and a while (if wearing glasses take them off)
4) go outside at least a few times a week, bike ride/walk
5) 6-8 hours of sleep
6) having an air purifier
7) take one complexB & D vitamin daily (not sure if this helps I do it anyways)
8) learn something new every day
This is just "tips on being human" lol
9 - stay away from dull managers
Don't overdose b3 and b6
I live in in a hot country, my big thing is to stay hydrated. BTW, just water doesn't cut it, need electrolytes
The hardest part of getting older in Computer Science is knowing that this good’ol company payroll for the 10,000 employees in your org does just the same as 40 years ago with 32kB RAM as today with 32GB. Just slower, with lots of JSON and configuration files larger than the business code. Still batch, though.
I've just retired mid-60s. It's probably a little earlier than I'd planned, but the overheads, the constant change, re-skilling, scrum, agile, kanban, Jira, Git and a bunch of other stuff became overwhelming.
Yep, the breaking point for me was signed checkins on GitHub. All of the crazy overhead took all the fun right out of it for sure
I hate Git.
@@AMSabuncu Torvalds pronounces it with a soft G a la: ZHIT
Git’s not so bad. It’s just a directed acyclic graph. Of the one’s in that list, I think it’s the most useful and least offensive.
@@AMSabuncu git is like math; you hate it until you understand it.
After that it is the best tool ever, and you wonder how the heck you could live without it.
I'm 67, a few years ago, I developed cataracts. Had the lens changed with crystalline replacements. Local anesthesia no problem.
One thing to note, the focal lengths are fixed, I had the dioptery reduced from 5 to 3, which means my progressive lens in the glasses are much thinner, and cheaper. But I'd advise you, get a pair of glasses specifically for the computer, the focal length needed is totally different from the regular lenses, it's actually mid-distance. Otherwise, you'll be looking up and down as you work between the keyboard and the screen, that's just annoying. I also use them to play piano.
Getting multifocal lenses is great too. They cost more but these are your eyes.
@r_j_p_ I was spending 800 dollars every 2 years on vary focal. After I had artificial crystalline lenses due to cataracts, I spend 300 dollars, once! Until they get too scratched. I also spent 200 dollars on reading/computer glasses with fixed focal length.
In the UK, presbyopia is called 'long sightedness', and myopia is 'short sightedness'. It is possible to have both, especially when older - hence varifocal glasses.
Presbyopia doesn't refer to all causes of 'long sightedness', only the age-related loss of elasticity in the lens. Hyperopia is the general term for 'long sightedness'. Presbyopia is hyperopia caused by your lens losing elasiticty as you age.
thanks for this talk
Potential points of failure:
- your back
- your wrists
- your eyesight
- your cognitive skills
- your mental health
I'm only 44, and have always had good eyesight. I can still see my screens fine, but I was building a model kit for an afternoon and got a bad headache. My speccy wife pointed out I might need glasses so now I have cheaters, don't use them much, but white reading my daughter Lord of the Rings in small print with a dim bedside lamp they have been very useful - as much as I hate to admit it.
What she ays makes 100% sense; you know all of it anyway, yet it's very good to hear someone else say it, and put it all into one place. But it's so Fing difficult. I have known all these things for eyars, but I cannot get myself to do any of it.
Great talk by Kate, as always.
42:40 Introduces age discrimination. This is where the video really starts if you ask me. Everything before that is related to eyesight hearing and mobility, etc and is not specific to programmers.
Much thanks for that.
Lovely talk.
Does anyone have a citation for that "one month of sleep makes you feel six years younger" study? Seems super subjective.
is it possible to get the slides?
Am I too old to start programming at age 53?
For what ?. Earning money soon ?
You can start. 50s is still young nowadays. The number one thing would be to provide emotional support to the team because every setback and people will act crazy.
yes - one has to re-tool about every 3 years anyway. Jump on the newest things.
why?
nah, one of my classmates in my CSE undergrad was a guy in his 60's who just decided he really wanted to learn how computers work and get a programming job, so he quit his job as a financial expert and went back to school just because he wanted to.
The sarcasm is strong with this one.
Excelent. I got a bust. Very nice.
I always joked that when I design some piece of code, I design it so that it should work until my retirement, but I'm not concerned about what happens after. Case in point - Bug 2038, 32-bit time_t. According to my calculation I should be retired by then, so my time calculations were not taking into account the possibility of wrap-around.
And if it doesn't work after you retire, and you're the only one qualified to debug it... $500/hr consultancy work on your own terms
7:46 or public transit
Please add real captions to the video. UA-cam's autogenerated ones are bad.
Become mathematician or move to academia