The big problems with aging in the industry are health-related. There are several occupational diseases that any programmer sooner or later will have to deal with and the older professionals rarely warn the youngsters about them, and rarely coach them with preemptive measures.
Deteriorating eyesight, lower and upper back problems, hemorrhoids, weight gain, carpal tunnel syndrome and other RSIs are very, very common in our profession.
If you're reading this (perhaps because you still want to be programming in your 40s, 50s, and even 70s), make sure to prioritize your physical and mental health above everything else while you're still young. That is way more important than learning how not to suck at interviews, recognizing algorithms and knowing data structures. More important than compilers, programming languages, tools, hardware and operating systems.
It doesn't help if you used to be an exceptional architect, but you can't physically sit and code for even two straight hours anymore.
There isn't a massive amount of old programmers, for the same reason why you don't ever see a 70-year-old roughneck. Yes, the work of a programmer may not be as physically demanding, yet it requires certain mental and physical shape nevertheless.
So, please, keep yourself in shape. And not only by studying and acquiring new skills. Stay healthy for as long as you can stretch it out. Because sooner or later, that all sitting, staring at screens and coding will make you sick. That's just guaranteed.
Deteriorating eyesight, lower and upper back problems, hemorrhoids, weight gain, carpal tunnel syndrome and other RSIs are very, very common in our profession.
If you're reading this (perhaps because you still want to be programming in your 40s, 50s, and even 70s), make sure to prioritize your physical and mental health above everything else while you're still young. That is way more important than learning how not to suck at interviews, recognizing algorithms and knowing data structures. More important than compilers, programming languages, tools, hardware and operating systems.
It doesn't help if you used to be an exceptional architect, but you can't physically sit and code for even two straight hours anymore.
There isn't a massive amount of old programmers, for the same reason why you don't ever see a 70-year-old roughneck. Yes, the work of a programmer may not be as physically demanding, yet it requires certain mental and physical shape nevertheless.
So, please, keep yourself in shape. And not only by studying and acquiring new skills. Stay healthy for as long as you can stretch it out. Because sooner or later, that all sitting, staring at screens and coding will make you sick. That's just guaranteed.