Why don’t we see a decent number of grey-haired software developers in the industry? Where do all the programmers go when they are older? Do companies cut out older programmers?

If a programmer in their 50s applies for a position with some in their 20s or 30s, how many companies will hire them? There are a lot of myths about this issue, and there are some hard truths too.

It’s certainly shocking to see 40, even 35, considered “old” sometimes. The term old is used here to mean when programmers plan to retire or switch their jobs.

Let’s talk about some statistics.

Statistic: Is 40 the New 60 for Programmers?

I found some conflicting statistics among some surveys. In 2019 Stack Overflow surveyed 66,329 professional developers from all around the world. Here’s the result:

Of the total number of professional developers, 71.7% are under 35 years old and 85% are under 40 years old. This is unusual compared to almost any other profession in the world.

The survey also finds, from 50,705 responses, that the highest average age of developers in Australia and the United States is 32.8. The minimum average age is 25.9 in India.

According to this research paper, the number of software developers aged 55 to 64 years increased from 87,000 (8.3%) in 2011 to 195,000 (10.7%) in 2019 in the USA. So the concentration of older developers is higher in the USA than in most countries.

But day by day, this scenario will be changed.

According to Evans’ data, there are around 24 million developers worldwide and this will increase by 20% to nearly 30 million by 2024. With around 4.4 million software developers, the United States currently has the largest number, but India is expected to overtake it by 2024.

The truth is Asia is generating more software developers, and day by day, the average age of software developers will be decreased even more.

Why We See Less of Them in the Industry

Higher salary expectation & demand

It’s obviousthat an experienced and older software developer deserves and expects a higher salary than a younger one (but not always).

The problem is the demand. Do the software companies need these experienced developers and are it worth it? Mostly no. A company does not need a lot of highly experienced senior developers.

Every company has to calculate financial feasibility. It’s not feasible to maintain a lot of older developers with a higher salary.

Switching jobs

Most developers find a way to make more money without writing code. So switching job is another reason.

Neverending learning

Technology, programming languages, and frameworks are changing so fast that many older (and even young) developers can’t keep up with it.

With age, there are a lot of other responsibilities that come to the older generation. They often can’t give enough time to learn new things. This is another reason why we see fewer older programmers.

No other professional in other industries has to learn this fast. Programmers always need to make sure they are updated about the latest changes.

Environment

As time goes on, they start to notice they are on the older side of the team/company and find themselves in a pool of a bunch of young programmers.

Many can’t connect with the young programmers because of the generation gap and some other factors. They feel lonely in the workplace. It’s another reason.

Relatively new industry

The software industry is relatively newer than others. This is one of the biggest reasons. As the industry gets old, hopefully, we will see more of them.

Startup Culture Is Also Pushing It

Entrepreneurs try to build fast and break things. Every entrepreneur’s dream is to change the world in some positive way. As an entrepreneur, I can understand this psychology.

An idea is a fragile thing. Execution is everything. But before the execution, entrepreneurs need some tech products ( if it’s a tech startup). They can’t afford to wait a long time for a product to be built.

Because when an idea fails, entrepreneurs have to learn from the mistakes and move in another direction, based on the experiment. All these experiments need fast development of tech products.

Moreover, when raising Series A funding or a good amount of money, we often can’t afford to spend more.

So for cheap, fast development of tech products, entrepreneurs always look for young developers. But it’s also true that when a startup enters into a mature stage, they need experienced senior developers who can build a strong foundation and solid architecture for the products.

As Dan Lyons, a former writer for HBO’s Silicon Valley said in an interview on the topic: “I think they’ve all decided that the optimal return is young kids: burn them out, get rid of them, replace them.”

This rampant ageism in the technology industry causes several problems, including mental pressure for developers both young and old.

How To Survive as a Programmer in the Industry

Programming is not just a profession for many. Recently I was reading some related posts on Quora. I have found that many developers aged 50+ or 60+ are still doing programming.

Some of them were offered other jobs, but they rejected them because they love programming. Actually, if you can do what you love, you are blessed!

However, whether you love it or not, if you want to stay in this profession for a long time, you need to keep in mind some factors. Whether you are a young or older programmer, the rule is simple:

If you don’t update yourself regularly, you will be deprecated.

Follow the young mind

Besides young developers being cheaper, there are other two factors why recruiters choose them.

• They always want to learn more. They are curious and love to learn new things. Their knowledge is more likely to be recent.
• They can inspire new ideas and share fresh insight.

So follow the young mind. If you have a young mind, whatever age you are will matter less.

Don’t carry technology baggage

I have seen as an entrepreneur that many programmers carry “technology baggage.”Please don’t do that. Always be open-minded to adopting new technology.

Some recruiters count it as a red flag if a programmer has too many years of experience in a specific programming language and doesn’t have any working experience in their portfolio.

What’s the End Game?

If you have read this far, you might be thinking, “are older programmers put out of their jobs forcefully after a certain period of time?” The answer is mostly no.

Let’s see what happens to them.

Management

As companies can easily hire young, energetic developers for less money, they use experienced developers in another important role, like first- or second-line managers.

Consultant

Youngblood can have many advantages, but it can’t be a consultant. Experienced developers become independents or hired consultants for companies. And they can really earn a lot by being a good consultant.

I know a consultant from the U.K. who earns millions per year.

Freelancer

Some of them want to work by their own rules by becoming freelancers.

Expert in a specialized area

Many become an expert in a specialized field. I’ve seen people specialize in very specific areas where there is a need, like big data for healthcare or Azure cloud architecture.

In some specific sectors, the experience will always have a great demand.

Early retirement

Many developers retire early and become a trainer for young developers.

Starting a startup

Many experienced developers use their networks and skills and take a portion of their savings to start a new tech company or startup.

Staying as a programmer

Yes! This is also an option, and a lot of developers still remain as programmers in their 50s or 60s. Their skill keeps them in the industry.

Last Few Words

Older developers face concerns about the stability of the roles they’re in. This can lead to heightened stress or even imposter syndrome. I think this can be avoided by taking early preparation.

New programming languages, frameworks, and libraries pop up all the time. Be updated all the time. I am saying this again and again because I have seen this. Skilled people often ignore this. But the reality is that skills can be out of date very soon in this sector.

Zoho’s CEO, Sridhar Vembu, experimented by hiring 17-year-olds directly out of high school. He found that within two years, the work performance of these recruits was almost the same as that of their college-educated peers.

Day by day the number of young programmers is increasing so fast. So is programming really becoming a young programmer’s game?

Though my personal opinion is that age is just a number as long as programmers don’t get locked in a time and have the mentality to learn more. What do you think?

Tell us your opinion in the comments. And please also share your workplace scenario regarding this issue.