> Marco Anglesio wrote:
>
> >Software developers have a limited lifespan
>
> How limited? Do you get too old to learn new languages or algorithms?
> Do employers just want younger programmers because they can work
> longer hours for lower pay? I'd love to hear more about this.
A couple of reasons. Well, more than a couple, and I'll go through them as I think of them.
First, longer hours. Younger people have fewer social commitments. They are more likely to work insane hours when needed to be, and they're unlikely to have families who will put up a fuss. Younger people are, by and large, also used to such circumstances from college. I'm not sure if it's longer hours per se but it can be very erratic hours.
Second, lower pay. There is a plateau which one reaches very quickly with respect to salary. I think that this is odd, but at the same time I understand it; if you stay as a code monkey, there is a finite limit to how quickly you can churn out LOC. You're more valuable as a team leader, a project manager, or an architect - if you have the right mindset and skills for those jobs. But even in these jobs, you're limited in how much extra value you can add.
Third, technical knowledge. While the fundamentals of application design are fairly stable, good knowledge of individual technologies tends to be rather difficult to keep up with, certainly at the bleeding edge. People, and I include myself here, slip off.
Fourth, burnout. This is a product of the first three, but certainly not to be neglected. IT - at least in consulting, dev and R&D shops - is a very stressful, competitive pursuit. It gets old quickly, and it gets old to you quickly. Other things take priority.
Marco