I'm 37 and have been in the industry for about 9(ish) years. Fortunately, I have't had to deal with this yet. But I have also had the privilege of working with some great engineers who are 40+ years old, and here are some of my observations:
There is no one true path
For some reason, there's this stigma in our industry that great engineers should move into management to continue to advance their careers. I whole heartedly disagree with this sentiment. While management is certainly 1 path someone can take, it is not the only path.
I've had the pleasure of working with many outstanding engineers over the age of 40 who have shown me many other paths that can be taken...
Because they love it so much, several of them don't want to stop writing code, so they've simply remained as senior+ engineers. And are very happy doing what they do.
One of them built a SaaS product, sold it to a few large companies, and just maintains it himself.
Another one found passion in teaching tech and is now an instructor for a bootcamp, while helping to maintain OSS on their spare time.
And still another one moved into consulting. Now they get paid to travel all over the world to assess engineering teams processes and standards in order to help them become more efficient.
Don't let a false stigma control your career path. If you want to go into management, awesome! But don't think it's the only path you have available to you.
Regardless of your age, the learning doesn't stop
Most of the 40+ year old engineers I've spoken to and worked with have had a few things in common, 1 of which is they have not stopped learning and keeping up with the industry. The old adage of "you can't teach and old dog new tricks" definitely doesn't apply to them.
I only mention this to say that one of the expectations for all people in this industry, regardless of age, is that we keep learning.
Learn to get along with people of all ages
Regardless if you're an engineer, a manager, an accountant or a receptionist, as we get older, we will eventually start to work around people who are younger than us. Sometimes those people might be your managers, our clients, or even our CEO's. So a challenge that some might face is being able to get along with the younger generation.
I've met some people who have a really hard time being told what to do by someone 10-20 years their junior. Even just working alongside someone as equals who is that much younger might be challenging for some. So opening yourself up to this type of thing could really set you up for success as you cross that 35 year threshold.
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I'm 37 and have been in the industry for about 9(ish) years. Fortunately, I have't had to deal with this yet. But I have also had the privilege of working with some great engineers who are 40+ years old, and here are some of my observations:
For some reason, there's this stigma in our industry that great engineers should move into management to continue to advance their careers. I whole heartedly disagree with this sentiment. While management is certainly 1 path someone can take, it is not the only path.
I've had the pleasure of working with many outstanding engineers over the age of 40 who have shown me many other paths that can be taken...
Because they love it so much, several of them don't want to stop writing code, so they've simply remained as senior+ engineers. And are very happy doing what they do.
One of them built a SaaS product, sold it to a few large companies, and just maintains it himself.
Another one found passion in teaching tech and is now an instructor for a bootcamp, while helping to maintain OSS on their spare time.
And still another one moved into consulting. Now they get paid to travel all over the world to assess engineering teams processes and standards in order to help them become more efficient.
Don't let a false stigma control your career path. If you want to go into management, awesome! But don't think it's the only path you have available to you.
Most of the 40+ year old engineers I've spoken to and worked with have had a few things in common, 1 of which is they have not stopped learning and keeping up with the industry. The old adage of "you can't teach and old dog new tricks" definitely doesn't apply to them.
I only mention this to say that one of the expectations for all people in this industry, regardless of age, is that we keep learning.
Regardless if you're an engineer, a manager, an accountant or a receptionist, as we get older, we will eventually start to work around people who are younger than us. Sometimes those people might be your managers, our clients, or even our CEO's. So a challenge that some might face is being able to get along with the younger generation.
I've met some people who have a really hard time being told what to do by someone 10-20 years their junior. Even just working alongside someone as equals who is that much younger might be challenging for some. So opening yourself up to this type of thing could really set you up for success as you cross that 35 year threshold.