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."

Comments

I have never been able to get into this mindset...

[Nomad7674]

It may have to do with the fact that my father was diagnosed with brain cancer when I was 9 and finally died when I was 20 (he was about 40), but I have never been able to understand the mindset of "I must set a plan TODAY in order to achieve in 30 years." And don't get me wrong, I have been challenged often enough and desired to be able to provide that kind of long-term vision - especially in interviews for jobs.

But the reality is that no one really knows what tomorrow brings and it is the small decisions today which make the BIG differences tomorrow. In college, could I have planned to be a Business Analyst? NO! I did not know one existed. But by making the right small choices in life - finishing the things I loved in college, following advice of friends in jobs, working hard at the jobs I had, treating people right, keeping my eyes on God, etc. - I wound up in a very good place.

Is it the place I planned to be? No. I am still unmarried and have not yet written the great American novel. But I have few regrets.

I guess my point is: Feel free to plan, but never forsake now for the far-flung future and never take the low road now assuming you will get back to the high road later. You may not be around to get to your vision in 30 years.

Oh, and for the record, I am 28 now.

When 50's are your short-term goals

[coyote-san]

Okay, I'm 41 and change, still many years from 50, but I can provide a bit more specific advice than many others here.

• Always know your fire exits. Both literally (when checking into a new hotel while on a trip), figuratively (e.g., always keep an eye open for trucks with loose cargo that can suddenly dump heavy trash in your lane) and in life. Some day your life will depend on it.
• Plan for a rainy day. Hell, plan for a 100-year flood. And know how to recognize when you're in it. This should be automatic to anyone living through the current IT depression.
• Always have a backup plan. Always play with the next move or three in mind.
• Always keep some cash on hand. Liquid funds (before and separate from your "rainy day" funds) in the bank, even a kilobuck or two in a fire safe at home. Cash speaks in situations where nothing else will work.
• Always keep your car in working condition. Nothing is more worthless than an untrustworthy car - you can't use it when you need it, but the upkeep is a constant drain on your resources.
• Always keep a few days worth of emergency rations and water in your house. It will seem to be a wasted effort... until that crazy kid two blocks over blows up the substation and you're without power for a couple days.
• Finally, the little stuff adds up. If you're a regular runner your knees will be beat up unless you always wear good shoes. If you don't workout, you will resemble Jabba the Hutt as you hit middle age.

As for career advice, it's buried in the advice mentioned above. You can (and should) sketch out a general career arc, but don't bother trying to make a detailed prediction 30 years out because too much will change. E.g., what happens to your plan if you're diagnosed with MS (or worse, ALS) in another few years? What if your kid dies tragically in a decade, and you think you can see a way to help others avoid the same cruel fate?

All you can do is ensure that you're never "checkmated" because you're stuck in a job you hate but can't afford to quit, with career skills that have become hopelessly outdated, that you aren't caught in an easily avoided layoff, etc.