I am not old, in relative terms. But I’m becoming more concerned these days about issues regarding age in my profession.
Many of the folks in the web development industry are in their twenties. You almost have to be to be good at it. By that I mean that if you’re older, you likely weren’t exposed to all the new technology and never had the free time to amass (by osmosis) the knowledge needed to do it well, and if you’re younger, you likely aren’t a professional yet and don’t have the experience to do it well. Obviously, there are exceptions, but generally this seems about the right age within the group of peers I am familiar.
I should note that I am on the top edge of this age group, perhaps just outside. The difference being that all of the rockstars of the internet that I know are single 20-somethings that party frequently and generally live the “internet rockstar lifestyle”. Conversely, I am a happily married, proud father of two. I also have a bunch of gray hair, which leads me into my point here.
I remember when I started working at Kruse, there was a guy by the name of Chris who also worked there. I was in my early 20’s, and I’m not really sure how old Chris was. But there was something about him that put him outside of the comfort range of peers for me when I was that age. Besides that he was not really a developer, and as such couldn’t commiserate on that level, he didn’t operate at the same social level I did at the time.
I’m feeling lately like the venerable elder in my respective computer-centric communities. This is difficult because it simultaneously implies and requires an experience level higher than that of peers who are younger. And I’m not saying that I’ve not been around the block more times, but that lagging in learning new things - especially in this field - is definitely not an option if you want the respect of your peers, especially if you don’t want to be considered a clinging-on old fool. Which is really weird considering that I’m not nearing retirement age or anything. And then there is another issue I’ve been considering.
When I turn 50, do I still want to be powering through reference manuals and RFCs looking at the latest crap I have to know to keep my skills sharp? Do I even want to be there when I’m 40? Unlike a job in, say, plumbing, you’re never done learning things in the computer industry. I’ve got enough gray hair from keeping up over the years (and the kids, sure), do I want to sign on for 30 more years of that? I’m just wondering what the long-term viability of this work is.
Will the work be there in the future? What is around the next corner? What technology am I going to have to learn next just to keep myself gainfully employed? It’s not really that I object to the pace, just that I’m curious – in ten years when the batch of 20-somethings have all bought houses, gotten married (Ha! Maybe I assume too much!), and generally have other things to occupy their maturity, how will the web development landscape have changed to accommodate both them and the younger generation already vying for their position as top-dog?
