>love programming >software developer salaries seem pretty

>>57103982
You get sacrificed to a succubus and lose all your programming skills.

>>57103982
most devs stop learning new technologies so become unemployable

>>57103982
they grow a pony tail, get a weird piercing and become a sys admin

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I know one programmer over that age

He's s good dude. but he's a fat, quiet web dev that wears shorts to the office aged like 40. Don't think he knows a single person in the place.

Nice guy, but I don't want to be that dude.

They become infosystems architects, project managers or team leads

Being a developer is only fun for so long until not being able to call the shots starts to become frustrating

Some become analysts/designers as well

>>57105114
>dev -> analyst

Strange career move tbqh

Business analyst here. Most devs I know have a big stick up their ass that anyone on the technical side of a company that isn't a developer is unworthy in some way

>>57105269
I meant systems analyst, retard

>>57103982
They retire because they already have enough money to live the rest of their lives and don't need to be a wagecuck anymore.

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>>57103982
They land in a mental institute.

In my experience, most of them are in management positions.

>>57104889
Or they become a systems architect, consultant, project manager... more white collar stuff.

>>57103982
The lifetime of a developer looks something like this (and my own life at mid 40's is no different):

>first job, big box company, high enthusiasm
>next job after 2-3 years because no raise despite dramatic increase in productivity
>hate second job because of co-workers, framework, dev environment, process, etc.
>third job in late 20s, get comfy, good life/work balance
>get family, kids, stretch time thing, pick up side gigs for more $$
>mid-30s realize that all the other devs are much younger and you're the only competent person in the office on any given morning
>change jobs again in search of more mature office and senior level pay
>realize after a year or two that you never wanted a lead position and its for single gay men with no family only
>quit job and go consultant rout or retire in 40s because you made great money for the last decade or more

Basically you go senior, lead, etc. and stay spry or you go home and consult on (usually) legacy systems you were intimately familiar with. The pay scale varies so wildly depending on circumstance it's hard to say how most end up but generally by 40 you have imbibed enough industry knowledge that you can wrangle a livable paycheck just working part-time remote. That's why the older devs are so scarce in the office. Most of them don't have to be there anymore and the few who do are management who hate themselves and leave early whenever possible.

>>57105409
>more white collar stuff
what?

developers are already about as white collar as you can get

>Software consultants

What do these people do?

There aren't that many of them. Half of the programmers have less than five years of experience.

>>57105428
>>realize after a year or two that you never wanted a lead position and its for single gay men with no family only
what are you on about?

>>57105428
Don't most consulting jobs require travel? I feel like that's the last thing I'd want to do when I'm older

>>57105452
Get paid a lot to produce unmaintainable garbage that just works. It's a great gig and their code is so bad that they qualify as job creators.

>>57105452
Basically just people you pay to come in and tell you how fucked up you and your company are.

>>57105477
you clearly have no idea what you're on about

>>57105532
hah, shit, I do that on a daily basis
should ask for a raise

>>57105469
Single men have the time for lead. It's a high stress, high investment position (usually). The only men wedded to that kind of job in their 40s tend to be gay because otherwise they'd want more time with the family.

>>57105476
Periodically it does, but most consulting is remote. I fly about 3-4 times a year which beats the fuck out of battling traffic 300+ days a year.

 //They go for contracting jobs 

>>57105114
>>57105392
>>57105409
>>57105428

All this.

Especially the management/lead thing. American work culture is weird and involves a lot of promoting people past their competence.

>>57107040
>promoting people past their competence
Not so much competence as time investment. Project managers in good companies are paired off or rotated by lead developers. In the average company; however, it's just one guy who usually has absurd working hours.

This model goes back to the era when men worked longer hours and wives stayed at home. Now there's more of a shared burden at home and neither men nor women with family can afford that kind of commitment. Hence most project managers are either childless gays or traditionalists with housewives. The latter are being purged from the corporate world now so only the former remains. Normal people in between with a few kids hit lead dev. and just bounce because there's no advancement worth taking on in that system.

The good news is, this process of spinning off older and more seasoned devs into the consulting world is building a culture of independence vital to keeping the industry nimble. It's easier to not be a yes-man when you're a consultant rather than a salary man.

>>57107261
>Continued

The bad news is, the ranking positions in a lot of otherwise good tech companies are being staffed increasingly by a minority of people who absolutely hate and disdain normal employees with family. It's getting to the point where increasingly young people with family and leaving for self-employment in their 20s and 30s because the culture is so toxic. Everyone is assumed to be an ultra-tolerant-flexible workbot with no attachments.

>>57103982

> What the fuck happens when you reach 35 as a dev?

lot of people simply leave the industry.

if you haven't left the industry: your own startup, architecture, sales, pre-sales, team leadership, middle management.

a lot of businesses have the idea that you should be promoted away from your love or strength.