Where Do Old Programmers Go?
<p>Read on, as that pithy comment is (mostly) wrong. Old programmers <strong><em>are</em></strong> around but perhaps not in the places you would expect them to be.</p>
<h1>New Blood, Old Blood. Laying the groundwork for an industry unfriendly to experience</h1>
<p>Some of the problems around older coders are mirrored with entry into the profession.</p>
<h2>Lack of respect for experience outside the industry</h2>
<p>Put simply:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><em>We don’t care about your experience outside programming.</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>This <strong><em>stops</em></strong> those with experience outside the industry from getting a foothold as coders. There is a barrier to entry for experienced hires meaning software development remains a young man's game. In 2023.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Genuinely</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Imagine a chemist who wishes to move into a junior software developer job. Their programming experience that’s struck off (code not in production). They’ll still be asked basic behavioral questions about working with other people.</p>
<p>It does make you wonder how bad things can get.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It can get bad, it turns out.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>One of my friends someone with years of experience in childcare has been asked about their organizational abilities in a behavioral interview. They struggle because it’s not within “a programming context” while Dilan at 24 flies through with his experience organizing a computer club at university.</p>
<p><a href="https://medium.com/@tsecretdeveloper/where-do-old-programmers-go-e433dc387604"><strong>Website</strong></a></p>