Slashdot Mirror
Long-Term Career Plans for Programmers?
zeno_lee asks: "Over the weekend, I spoke to a successful man in his 50s. He works in finance, but has had jobs in construction, trucking, and accounting. All throughout he has had concrete goals and pursued them vigorously. In his 20s he set a goal to be an expert in his field in finance, and achieved it successfully. I'm in my 20s and he advised me to envision what I want to do when I'm in my 50s, set my priorities and goals, and achieve that vision. He mentioned that success (career wise) depends on carefully planned goals with a vision, not a haphazard obstacle course with no end in sight.
Beyond receiving a paycheck in the short term and steadily gaining expertise in my field, I have not given my long-term career any concrete thought. I don't have a vision of what I will be doing when I'm 50. Has anyone thought of their long-term career thoroughly and are working towards it? By this I don't mean the usual vague response 'I'll probably be in management one day.' I'm looking to hear from both junior 'careerists' in their 20s who have concrete goals, and the older folks in this field who have established careers and have an opinion about this."
just like taking a trip. If you don't know where you're going, how do you know when you get there?
But envisioning where you want to be at 50 yo is a little rigid.
-- www.globaltics.net
Political discussion for a new world
I expect IT to become much more plug and run and that IT jobs will go the way of typewriter rapair jobs.
I am working on a programming degree, but I don't see myself programming for the rest of my life. 30 years from now when I am 50, computers are likely to be as different from today's, as the computers today are different from those of the 1970s. Programming will go through many more revolutions, as the Sofware Development Life Cycle goes through more revisions.
Set long terms goals, but don't let those be written in stone. Plan for tomorrow, but live in the present. Diversification will ensure you can always work in some field. Try to stay current in Hardware, and you can even work in an IT department :-)
John
Saskboy's blog is good. 9 out of 10 dentists agree.
This is quite true. If you are in a fast-paced and relatively new field like programming, you'd better not make your plans too rigid. It's interesting that you mention "typewriter repair jobs" because I was actually going to use the now-defunct Smith Corona Typewriter company as an example of changing technology spoiling the best laid plans.
The person asking the Ask Slashdot question also states that he's "in his 20s". Are you 20 or 29? There's a huge difference. Are you married? Any kids? Not only will technology and the world around you change, but you are certainly going to change in the next 30 years. The goals I set for myself when I was 20-24 are certainly not what I consider my goals are now. And your future family might not be thrilled with your goals if they require 60 hour work weeks during your midlife.
It's nice to give some thought to your long term goals but I would be wary of making rigid plans 30 years down the line. The advice this finance guy gave you about how "success depends on setting long-term goals" sounds like something you'd read in an Anthony Robbins book (or inside a fortune cookie). Life is pretty complicated. You can't expect the secret to professional success to be captured in a single sentence. Be smart. Be able to work with people. Be flexible and adaptable. These suggestions, too, are no guarantee that professional success will come to you but it will help you a lot more than planing for the year 2030.
Good luck,
GMD
watch this
1. Figure out which industry you're interested in (as to keep the job from being boring).
2. Become expert in that industry.
3. Save decent amount of money to start company.
4. Start own company in your industry.
5. Fight as hard to succeed in your company as you would to breathe if you were drowning.
6. Enjoy the ride, 1/2 the fun is getting there.
7. Retire and wonder how your spoiled children will ever respect the value of money.
8. Donate loads of cash to charity
9. Die happy.
10. (unknown, I haven't heard a good explaination yet.)
Figure out the difference between what you want to do and the tools you want to do it with. Rather than deciding that you want vaguely to do something with computers, figure out what you'd like the computers to help you accomplish, then figure out how other tools can help you accomplish the same goal.
Consider that the tools that will be used to accomplish those goals can and will change drastically in the next thirty years, and to assume that you want to become an expert in some specific programming platform, for example, is very shortsighted. Notice that your friend set out to be an expert in the very broad world of finance, and not a Quicken wiz.
I, personally, would like to spend the rest of my life developing tools to create a free and uncontrolled flow of information, whether that means using the existing Internet, a newer technology, or just reverting back to pidgeons. But the point is, I'm not locking myself into any set of tools to accomplish my goals, so my "career" is hopefully not going to be haphazardly controlled by bleeding edge technology, which always seems to be the thorn in the heel for programmers.
I have read, in the works of Steven Covey and the 7 Habits of Highly Effective whatevers, that you should try to envision yourself at your funeral, and picture what people are saying about you. Your children, coworkers, clergy, the guy from the donut shop, and so on.
It is from what these people say, summarizing your life and all the accomplishments therein, that you can glean precious kernels of wisdom that will help you focus your laser beam attention on whatever it is you wish most to have done.
That being said, I am afraid that I am at least as lost as you are. Frequently, I picture myself at that funeral, and all I can think of is a bunch of people saying "Boy, he just looks great (for a dead guy), doesn't he?"
But thats my problem, not yours. You need to figure out what you want. Then go for it. And if you don't know what you want, then just keep your nose in it and work hard. You know, ANYBODY who does a good job for 30 years at ANYTHING has no cause for shame.
www.avacal.com -- the home page of pete shaw
Most people in their 20's imagine that they will find a suitable life partner within the next few years (if they have not already done so), and start to settle down, have kids, buy homes, etc. That is a very noble plan, but if/when it does not happen then take advantage of the situation. Use the opportunity to achieve other goals (such as travel, save money, or whatever) so that when things do start to fall into place you're ready for the change.
I didn't get married until I was in my late 30's. This was not what I had originally planned, but I used the situation to my advantage and had a lot of fun traveling, etc. Now I'm in my 40's, have two young kids, adequate supply of money, and am very satisfied that I have already seen the world so to speak, so that I can concentrate on what's now important (my family). And I can make decisions driven by that priority (who needs to work like a dog for another promotion).
My point is that no matter what your plan is for life, you probably won't follow it exactly. Be flexible, and when something goes wrong use it as an opportunity.
1) ask yourself what really sets you on fire. What do you love?
2) and are you really good at it ?
If you can clearly awnser these two question then you have a plan. Whatever it is, it is what you are suppose to be doing. Go after it with a single-minded determination. I am 43. I worked as a research engineer for the US government for 12 years and finally discovered that I loved to teach and was good at it. Now that is what I do in addition to developing educational engineering courseware.
Do what you love or don't do it !
"player 4 hit player 1 with 0 stroms"
We've all heard rumblings about age bias in programming--they'd often rather underpay an desperate, overcaffeinated twenty-year-old than have to listen to that old cuss who can explain why the project is doomed. As a colleague (hi Dan!) put it, the two career paths for a programmer are
You can stay focused on coding if you're the local guru who knows the systems inside and out (in fact they might be afraid to try to go on without you), but there's always the risk your expertise will suddenly be obsolete, and many companies don't even realize how much they needed one until they get rid of them.
At 31, I'm slowly picking up project management (mostly by choosing jobs likely to let me do some, and reading), because it's easier to sell (nobody sane thinks they don't need it) and age mostly improves credibility. And somebody's got to oppose the industry's gratuitous complexity (or "cover fire", as Joel Spolsky puts it) in favor of the simplest thing that works.