They don’t prepare you
for this in college or admit it in job interviews. The harsh reality is that if
you are middle-aged, write computer code for a living, and earn a six-figure
salary, you’re headed for the unemployment lines. Your market value declines as
you age and it becomes harder and harder to get a job.
I know this post will
provoke anger, outrage, and denial. But, sadly, this is the way things are in
the tech world. It’s an “up or out” profession — like the military. And it’s as
competitive as professional sports. Engineers need to be prepared.
This is not openly
discussed, because employers could be accused of age discrimination. But
research, such as that completed by University of California, Berkeley,
professors Clair Brown and Greg Linden shows that even those with masters
degrees and Ph.Ds have reason to worry.
Brown and Linden’s
analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics and Census data for the semiconductor
industry revealed that although salaries increased dramatically for engineers
in their 30s, these increases slowed after the age of 40. After 50, the mean
salary fell by 17% for those with bachelors degrees and by 14% for those with
masters degrees and Ph. Ds And salary increases for holders of
postgraduate degrees were always lower than for those with bachelor’s degrees
(in other words, even Ph.D degrees didn't provide long-term job
protection).
It’s the same in the
software industry. Prominent Silicon Valley investors often talk about youth
being an advantage in entrepreneurship. If you look at their investment
portfolios, all you see are engineers who are hardly old enough to shave. They
rarely invest in people who are old.
It may be wrong, but
look at this from the point of view of the employer. Why would any company pay
a computer programmer with out-of-date skills a salary of say $150,000, when it
can hire a fresh graduate — who has no skills — for around $60,000? Even if it
spends a month training the younger worker, the company is still far ahead. The
young understand new technologies better than the old do, and are like a clean
slate: They will rapidly learn the latest coding methods and techniques, and
they don’t carry any “technology baggage.” The older worker likely has a family
and needs to leave the office by 6 p.m. The young can easily pull all -
nighters.
What the tech industry
often forgets is that with age comes wisdom. Older workers are usually better
at following direction, mentoring, and leading. They tend to be more pragmatic
and loyal, and to know the importance of being team players. And ego and
arrogance usually fade with age.
During my tech days, I
hired several programmers who were over 50. They were the steadiest performers
and stayed with me through the most difficult times.
It can be difficult
for some companies to justify paying the age premium. For tech start
ups in particular, it always boils down to cost: Most can’t even afford to
pay $60,000 salaries, so they look for motivated, young software developers who
will accept minimum wage in return for equity ownership and the opportunity to
build their careers.
We can blame the
employer, but in a free economy you can’t really force any company to hire
workers who have the wrong skills or to pay higher salaries. Larger companies
develop products for global markets and have global workforce. They
will hire where they can get the best skill for the best price.
So, whether we like it
or not, it’s a tough industry, and the onus is on employees to keep themselves
marketable. I know that many people will take offense at what I have to say,
but here is my advice to those whose hair is beginning to grey.
- Move
up the ladder into management, architecture, or design, and diversify your
experience. Work with business executives in your company, in areas such
as sales, finance, marketing/product management, legal, and operations.
Develop a broader set of skills that make you more valuable to your
employer and that differentiate you from others with just coding skills.
- Become
an entrepreneur. Despite what some investors say, older age is an
advantage in the startup world. You know more about industries and
markets, and have ideas for products that the world actually needs and a
better ability to motivate and manage than a kid out of school does.
- Keep
your skills current. This means keeping up to date with the latest trends in
computing, programming techniques, and languages, and adapting to change.
To be writing code for a living when you’re 50, you will need to be a
rock-star developer and be able to out-code the new kids on the block. Top
developers are always in demand and companies will readily pay top dollars
for them.
- If
you’re going to stay in programming, realize that the deck is stacked
against you. Even though you may be highly experienced and wise, employers
aren’t willing or able to pay an experienced worker twice or thrice what
an entry-level worker earns. Save as much as you can when you’re in your
30s and 40s, and be prepared to earn less as you gain experience.
Finally, I don’t know of
any university, including the ones I teach at, that tells its engineering students
what to expect in the long term or how to manage their technical careers.
Perhaps it is time to let students know what lies ahead and prepare them for
their difficult careers.
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