[russell]

The Koutnik links to this article, which inspired his essay. http://thecodist.com/article/my-biggest-regret-as-a-programm....

It was very painful to read, because I made exactly the same decision. I was VP/chief developer at a company that withered on the vine after a 10 year roller coaster ride at a software company that I had co-founded. I had two paths: I could have looked for a VP/Director job or I could have continued on as a Developer/Consultant. The money was pretty much the same, so I took the consultant route. The money was pretty much the same and programming was more fun.

All went reasonably well until September 2008. I had just finished a very satisfying consulting gig, but I walked out into a very changed world. The day after was the banking crash. Even earlier a divorce had taken me to the cleaners. But far worse, small interesting companies had no use for older, still up-to-date, still competent developers. I found myself going from Finder to Implementer. Agile development, which had seemed like a boon, turned into a tool to lock everyone into two week death marches controlled by upper management. Technical decisions where made by people who didnt have a clue.

Just as in the linked article, a woman working for me in the 80s took the management route and was a VP in a major SV software company a few years later. Now she is quite well off. Good for her; we are good friends.

Moral? If you are a software developer, dont get old. (I'm still doing it because I like it.)

[RKoutnik]

Wow, I'm sorry to hear about your experience. That must have been an exceptionally crummy time in your life. Here's hoping things have been better for you. If you're ever in the bay area, shoot me an email (in my profile) and I'll buy you a burrito just to hear more of the stories you've got (and hopefully, happier ones).

[seangrogg]

Thanks, now I'm missing the Mission... =/