Blogaborty: No Company For Old Programmers

Programming is addictive. The smarter you are, the easier it is to get hooked. The ability to command a machine makes a programmer feel like a superhero in a self-scripted movie. Good addictions peter off with age though, and after programming for 20 years, I can’t find the enthusiasm to program anymore.

As the allure of programming starts fading away, we try to discover new sources of inspiration. This quest leads us to different programming languages, frameworks, fads and technologies, and, as decades pass, maybe even to the theoretical depths of programming and computer science. In the end though we have to accept that programming is a repetitive activity. We feel that we have reached a state of mastery, that we cannot, may not or probably will not surpass, out of tiredness, tediousness or both. Some of us try to find solace in technology-leveraged hobbies that earlier interned only a passing interest. We delve into photography, astronomy, electronics, music and math to rekindle our imagination. Such distractions do temporarily overcome the drudgery of programming all day long.

The work environment also grows averse for aging programmers. We try to get a say in what problem is being solved, rather than just limiting ourselves to how it is solved, thus bringing us into conflict with management. In a technology company many managers are former programmers who have quit programming for dull reasons (you are reading one right now). It is also human nature that we tend to exaggerate our past successes. These managers remember their programming careers as full of energy and enthusiasm, wit and wisdom. They build up unrealistic schedules and estimates, ensuring that nobody can meet them. The inability to comprehend the complexity of a problem makes them under-appreciate most programming efforts, herculean though these efforts might have been. This is unfortunate, considering how appreciation is often the sharpest tool in the management toolbox.

The last resort of a graying programmer, wanting to stick it out, is in the comfort of good hardware and software that, like race car drivers, only they can love, appreciate and steer, preferably from the confines of a comfortable chair. Sadly, in a corporate setup, one is often stuck with obsolete hardware, crippled software and crooked chairs, not to mention a plethora of processes that sap the motivation even before the day starts.

I personally don’t know a programmer who successfully survived the boredom, disrespect and disregard that comes with age and experience. I know that some people will choose to remain programmers and I know that not all environments are so grim, but most programmers under most situations have to give up and do something else.