I'm terrified of older web developers. Because I'm becoming one.

By: Dan McComas

It's my birthday today. Birthdays bother me--every year around this time, I start worrying over things I can't control and are probably inevitable. So let's just get it over with, shall we? This year, I'm worrying about the future of my career and my passion as a web developer. I'll come right out and say it: I have a fear of older programmers. And now, I'm worried about becoming one. What will my programming career will look like in, say, 14 years, when I'm 50?

I've had six full time jobs in the last 12 years, plus countless side projects, and I've worked alongside just a few older web developers. Now, I've worked with some damn amazing middle-aged managers, architects, DBAs, and software engineers, but I have never worked with a good middle-aged web developer. (By "older web developer," I mean programmers pushing 50, who were around 40 in the bust.) Don't get me wrong, I'm sure there are good web developers that meet this criteria--I just haven't been lucky enough to work with (and learn from) them.

So today, I feel like I'm standing in the middle of the road, facing a crucial decision. I could stick to my current path, and remain a developer. I know what lies ahead on this road: a constant battle of long hours, hustling to staying fresh, adapting to new technologies and languages as they pop up--and overcoming the prejudices of younger developers, which I know too well. On the other hand, I could head in the direction of management--an equally scary proposition. That's a new and semi-unknown skill set for me. I may be great at it, but I think it's a hard choice to undo.

Someone else out there must share these fears and biases, or have faced this hard decision, and I want to hear from you! This is a topic I hope to explore over the coming weeks and months and hopefully, 14 years from now, I'll still be blogging as a happy, gainfully employed professional of whatever stripe. Until then, I'm going to try and enjoy my birthday.