The harsh reality of being a developer in your 30s or 40s

If you're already software developer in your 30s, you need to play a different game. Because this is the kind of stuff you will have to deal with. First, ages, right? Tech, it's all about the new and the young. People assume that you have less ability and brain power, because, of course, you're older. You also have less time and energy. You can't code on the weekends. Maybe you have a family, or maybe you have older parents to take care of.

With age come liabilities. If you made a career change, you also have less experience and I would say also less exposure. In the sector, and you compete with people who learn how to code a lot younger, and they have more time in the industry. Another issue you will have to deal with, it's expectations. Because with age, people will ask you, hey, you know, why are you not a manager yet? And finally, there's a huge hiring bias.

There's a stereotype of the young programmer, and you know, when is the last time Google hired a 40-year-old programmer? Mentoring developers who are in their 30s and 40s, and even 50s, I realize all these factors generate a lot of insecurities. People feel like, I joined the industry late, so there's no way for me to catch up, I'm not that fast, I'm not that young, maybe I missed the shot, maybe this was a stupid idea.

In this video, I want to prove you that things are not that bad, and I want to prove you the opposite. Because in age, there is wisdom. an older programmer pays off. Because 35 is the ideal age. And more importantly, you want other people to see you as 35. 35 means you are old enough to have certain maturity, certain stability. Your character, it's also developed. You learn certain things. But also, you are not too old to learn new things, and you're still able to catch up with everything that's going on, which, as a software engineer, it's very, very important.

focus comes with age. Younger developers are also more impulsive. They are faster in making mistakes as you get older, you get a bit more patient, which when you have to solve that bug in production, definitely pays off. Younger devs are also less loyal. They are more likely to jump ship and they suffer from FOMO. Back in my junior days, I was obsessed with salary, with the number. I was probably comparing to my friends a little bit too much.

And as you get older, you understand that money, it's important, but it's not the only thing. And it really doesn't matter how much your friends makes, what matters is are you getting paid fairly? Do you love your job? Are you growing? Younger devs have less stable lifestyles. You know, I'm talking about showing up hangover at the office, but it's not only that. It's just when you're 21, 22, 23, you're still kind of figuring out life, you have to go out and you have to date and you have to make friends.

And that takes a lot of energy, that someone who, for example, has a stable partner, they have certain routine in their lives and they can use that time and energy onto their job. Another thing younger devs are not able to do that well is to empathize well with customers and stakeholders. And you can see this because if you go to any student hackathon, most of the projects that students will propose, it's either another social media app or an app to travel.

They are not aware of problems outside of their social bubble many times. And this is very important when you are in a more traditional sectors. Let's say you build software for companies who take care of older people, senior people, your customer will be in today's 50s and 60s. Someone who is 21, 22, 23 will have it a bit harder to empathize with this kind of stakeholders or customers. And finally, younger developers are more prone to generate conflict.

Um, again, emotional regulation gets better with age. What's also self-image, self-esteem, and you see that it's usually the youngest devs that they get into endless fighting over AI coding tools. to the email inbox and they want to add that to the entire code base. And there's a senior dev who's like, no, we're not doing that. But again, as you get older, I guess your identity, it's more developed and you can easily detach your ego from your work.

Tools are just tools, frameworks are just frameworks, you do your best, but you do not fall in love with your code. And on average, they have less willpower and discipline, like they say, youth, it's wasted on the young. Finally, here's how to catch up with younger devs, specifically if you're in your 30s or 40s, you want to become this kind of Mr. Wolf, old, experienced, call them up, they solve problems, and they move on.

First of all, regardless of your age, whether you are 25, 35 or 45, build great developer habits. Keep in mind that a well rested 35 year old programmer will kick ass out of a hangover 21 year old. Really, manage your calendar, say no to meetings where you don't have a lot to add, and make sure to add one hour of learning every day in the morning to your schedule. This will make sure that you don't have to catch up when you're in between jobs, or when the worst happen and people get laid off.

Avoid multitasking. Work smart. For example, use the debugger. Read the docs. Invest in great developer habits. And the most important here is don't multitask. Do one thing at one time, and you will have no issue competing with younger devs who are spread all over because they think they have infinite energy. Finally, show your maturity. Be reliable, reability, functionality, be on time, if you have to go into the office certain days, then keep your office tidy.

You know, show that you have certain age, older people, people that are more experienced, don't freak out when it seems like the world is over because the world has been over ever since they arrived. Secondly, stay hungry and stay foolish, that means keep your edge, maintain your edge. And you do that by number one, keeping an eye on the latest tech and giving it a try. For example, read the latest relishes of the frameworks you use.

If you use React, read the release docs. If you use view, just just go through them. Just invest 20 minutes on this and you will kick ass of the younger devs because they don't have those habits. Finally, even if you have less free time, then use your busy time to learn and get better, for example, listen to tech podcasts, while you shop, while you commute, while you are doing certain things around the house.

Really, find the time within that busy period to actually keep your brain learning and you will end up not only catching up, but surpassing all these young dudes with no discipline. Also, very important, live in the present. What do I mean by that? Well, don't talk about that that Oracle database you maintained in the 90s, it might have been very cool, but it turns you into a dinosaur and that's what you don't want.

Also, check out the way you dress, again, always aim to be 35. Be a bit more casual, especially if you, you know, if you're older than, you know, into your 40s, 45, just keep it casual. Also, get involved in the community, don't just be again, a dinosaur, try to find a way time from from the family and the kids to go to one conference. You don't need to attend all of them. But go to one, maybe check out a local meetup, some online community, if you cannot, you know, you have kids to take care of, you can do this stuff online.

Uh, but really make sure you are involved in the community, you are present, you're not just there, because then it will be easier for you to be seen as a as an outsider, basically. And finally, fuel your passion. This is specifically important for developers who made a career switch. You want to get hobbies that are close to development, whether it's calligraphy, if you're a front end developer or drawing.

If you're a back end developer, things like chess, mechanics, you know, hobbies that are kind of using the same part of the brain and they keep you sharp, and they also fuel a bit your passion. Buy an ergonomic mechanical keyboard and and master it. And if you really want to look younger, then buy one that's colorful, maybe you find it a bit weird or or childish at the beginning, but you will get used to it and it will also add some life to your uh to your office.

Some other things you can do is buy a Raspberry Pi for your kids, setup Alexa, setup the smart home. Just be interested in technology and and play with technology, and you will start to build this identity of, I'm an engineer. And I build stuff, whether it's at my home or at my job. Finally, if you are a developer in your 30s or 40s or even 50s, looking for a new position, then remove your graduation date from your resume, or get some new training and you can use that graduation date.

Even if they claim the opposite, recruiters are very discriminatory, and your graduation date, it's used as a filter in probably most positions. Also, avoid startups that are ran by 25-year-old CEOs. Most of them are too young to run a company. They won't respect lifetime balance, they won't respect any boundaries. And there'll probably make mistakes in their strategy, in the way they build software.

Also, don't make your career switch your identity, right? Don't make it a big deal. You have to see yourself as a software engineer first. Okay? Forget about I'm a, you know, I'm a career switcher, or I'm a boot camper. Just forget about that. You're a software engineer, that's it. Next, as I already said many times in this video, it's always aim to look 35. In your resume, if you have very long resume, you might want to cut some of the positions out.

Your LinkedIn profile, very important. Look casual, look like a programmer, etc. Also, show don't tell. You know, when we talk about maturity, let interviewers speak when they interview you. Showcase your wisdom and professionalism. Show that you're someone who's mature, who's very easy to work with and who has a certain age. So bring certain stability to the team. And get to senior because once you're a senior, you can stay there till you are 60.

You know, junior developer, 40-year-old doesn't sound too good. You want to get out of there as soon as possible. And finally, remember, Pablo Picasso painted until he was in his 80s. I think he painted Guernica in his 50s. Despite the the traditional image that you've seen in the media where genius is very young. Most people across many different professions, including painting, software engineering, chemistry they reach the peak of their careers in their 40s, 50s, even 60s.

So keep up the good work, keep coding, and I'll see you in the next one.