Table of contents
- Preface
- Do programmers really have a "life cycle"?
- Are we really facing a career change at the age of 35?
- "There is no land at home", what should a 35+ year old programmer do?
- Conclusion
Preface
With the rapid development of technology and the Internet, the profession of programmers has undoubtedly attracted much attention. However, this industry always seems to be shrouded in a saying: once a programmer reaches the age of 35, his career will decline, and he may even need to consider "returning to his hometown to farm." Is this statement true? If there is really no land at home, how should programmers over 35 years old deal with it? Recently, in the programmer circle, there has been a heated discussion about what programmers should do after the age of 35. It can be said that what programmers can do after the age of 35 is like the "Essay Post" in the entertainment industry, which will appear every once in a while. I remember that 6 years ago, or even longer, there was a discussion about whether the age of 35 is a hurdle for a programmer, but every discussion on this topic was general, and every time it ended without results. As a 30+ older programmer, I have almost reached the 35-year-old critical point without realizing it. In addition, a friend of mine in Tencent Cloud Audio and Video has also mentioned this problem, but because of the halo of a big company and Tencent Cloud’s audio and video, he The product has always been very popular, with good income and prospects, including Tencent Cloud's excellent enterprise structure, but the anxiety of being 35 years old cannot be avoided, so how to alleviate it? Is there any practical and effective solution? So let’s talk about it in this article.
Do programmers really have a "life cycle"?
Let’s be clear: any career will face challenges that come with aging. As people age, their physical and mental qualities will decline, and their ability to cope with high-intensity work may weaken. However, this does not mean that the age of 35 is the "golden retirement line" for programmers. In fact, many mature programmers still achieve outstanding results at this age.
For example, Dennis Ritchie, the father of the C language, is well known to programmers. His program development experience is also full of magic. Although his academic career went smoothly, he was not too picky when it came to job opportunities. In order to create the C language, he always maintained the mentality of learning new technologies. He said that although he was not smart or talented, he had a curiosity. , thus stimulating his thirst for knowledge. It was his awareness of lifelong learning that made him the father of the C language.
In today's society, lifelong learning has become a goal pursued by more and more people. For programmers, the ability to continuously learn new skills and adapt to the development of new technologies is key. As long as you are willing to invest time and energy in learning, a 35-year-old programmer still has a lot of room for development. In fact, many senior programmers achieve higher levels of achievement in technical fields at this age or even later.
With the accumulation of experience, in addition to improving the technical level, programmers can also consider role changes in their careers. For example, moving from programming jobs to positions such as project management, technical consulting, or technical training within the company. These positions require more communication, coordination and management skills, and extensive experience in proportion to age is often conducive to qualifications for these roles.
Therefore, as programmers, we must maintain a continuous learning mentality. As continuous learning progresses, I believe that 35-year-old programmers can continue their career development by expanding their professional fields.
Next, learn about the career of a domestic programmer:
Programmer Zhou Jie first started working in program development after graduation, engaging in relatively basic development work. However, as the development time (similar to the flight time of a pilot) increased, his development level has become higher and higher, but after reaching a certain After this stage, the technical level encounters a bottleneck of improvement. At the same time, as the age increases, the ability to learn new technologies also decreases. The age growth and learning ability of programmers show an opposing curve, which is uncontrollable and inevitable. s reason.
After Zhou Jie was in his 30s, his technical level tended to be stable, his understanding of programming languages further improved, and he would quickly learn new programming languages. After all, programming languages are all similar, with strong programming thinking as technical support. Technical barriers to self-style are formed, and personal technical competitiveness is at its peak.
But after the age of 35, as programmers' ability to learn new things will weaken, they can still adapt to program development work. However, compared with young programmers who have just graduated and are in their early twenties, 35-year-old Zhou Jie Many competitive advantages have been lost, such as age, physical strength, learning ability, salary (cost saving is king for enterprises), etc. If programmers are still engaged in front-line program development after their 30s, then they really have to Think about your future.
This is just Zhou Jie's career, but we can all see our own shadow in him. Although he cannot represent all programmers, he can also reflect the current situation of most programmers. Regarding the whereabouts of programmers after the age of 35, most programmers' ideas are mainly divided into the following categories: switching to the direction of technical management, or changing careers and starting a business, or really returning to their hometown to farm, or others. Regarding these ideas, it can be seen that most programmers are quite thoughtful and consider their own retreats in advance, and these retreats are very good choices.
Are we really facing a career change at the age of 35?
Does the reality really mean that programmers must change careers after they reach the age of 35? Is it really impossible to continue working in front-line development after the age of 35? Personally I think this is the case, because although programmers after the age of 35 have reached a very high level of technology and a certain level of material accumulation, programmers will be distracted by family and life and can no longer focus well. Development work at work.
As the saying goes, human energy is limited. Why are programmers so motivated and energetic when they first start working? It is because they only face one thing: work. At this time, most programmers have not yet married, so there is no need to think about it. There are too many family factors, but after the age of 35, programmers generally get married and have families, and there are more and more things to take care of. This makes it impossible to focus on just one thing, work, and is scattered. If it takes away the programmer's energy, the programmer will have to consider changing careers or changing jobs.
"There is no land at home", what should a 35+ year old programmer do?
The "family without land" mentioned here is actually a joke. In fact, it refers more to "the family has no wealth and no industry." So is the career "life cycle" of a programmer really over? How should we respond to the uncontrollable changes brought to us by the environment and industry? As the saying goes: A grain of dust of the times falls on everyone and becomes a mountain. Each of us programmers is more or less driven by the Internet wave. Many times, we can't help but follow the trend. However, for the sake of the future, we cannot give up on ourselves. If we encounter changes, we can definitely seek other part-time or entrepreneurial opportunities. Many programmers have accumulated rich experience in the technical field and may consider putting this experience into practice, starting their own companies or providing technical consulting services. This way you can make full use of your skills and create more sources of income for yourself.
Programmers can also improve their overall quality through continuing education, participating in skills training, etc., and seek employment opportunities for themselves in other fields. For example, many online education platforms now provide various courses that can help programmers broaden their horizons and improve their competitiveness in the workplace. A friend of mine, Ah Xie, happened to catch up with the "layoff wave" in the Internet field last year. He was "lucky" to be laid off. The environment at that time was in a mess. There was almost no possibility of a comeback based on his situation at the time. He might be replaced by something else. The programmer was about to give up on himself, but Ah Xie did not give up. He bought online technical courses and "retreated" at home for about 3 months, and found a development position on the artificial intelligence track during the coldest employment period at that time. , and the salary has doubled than before. I have to say that Ah Xie's successful "counterattack" experience has inspired us. As long as we dare to try, we will definitely gain something. The key lies in whether we go all out!
In short, 35 years old is not the end of programmers, but a new starting point. Facing career challenges, programmers should maintain a positive attitude, continue to learn new skills, broaden their career fields, and seek more development opportunities. At the same time, for those programmers who do not have land at home, they can also create more possibilities for themselves through part-time jobs, entrepreneurship or continuing education. As long as you face challenges bravely and study diligently, a 35-year-old programmer can still write a glorious chapter of his own.
In this era of change, we should abandon the concept of age discrimination and respect everyone's career choice. The career of programmers is not an "arena" with age restrictions, but a field full of opportunities and challenges. As long as we have enough enthusiasm and perseverance, like Bill Gates and Dennis Ritchie, we can still achieve remarkable achievements in this industry, regardless of age.
Conclusion
As technology continues to develop, the career prospects of programmers are also expanding. Even if programmers really want to return to their hometown, they do not necessarily have to farm and can look for development opportunities in other fields. If there is no land at home, programmers don’t have to worry too much. There are many ways to obtain income and life security. Therefore, we should abandon that unrealistic view and not limit the development of programmers' careers to the category of "returning to their hometowns to farm". So, as a programmer, no matter how young you are, sooner or later you will be 35 years old and beyond. You can imagine in advance what you will be after 35 years old. Will you or can you continue to do program development after 35 years old? Please express your opinions in the comment area, welcome to leave a message and exchange!