Layoffs are continuing today as companies perform extreme cost cutting, and are moving jobs to development centers outside of the USA to save on costs.

I stopped watching the video after 30 seconds! In short, as someone that a) has over 3 and a half decades experience of software development, and b) will later this year hit the big 6-0, i can assure everyone, 50 is not too old for this job! If you still enjoy tech, and keeping reasonably up to date with recent tech developments, it can still like being paid to work doing your hobby. 💪😁😎

You sound great at 1.5

Tony, this is the first time I've seen you on video. Your passion and your sincerity are unmistakable. It is very compelling to watch. I look forward to seeing more content from you in the near future. Hang in there.

Should a 50 year old in IT support transition over to software development? Is there time and wise decision if interested in coding or should I continue in my gig until retirement? What’s your take on older folks going into dev. Will AI just take over soon?

I think the same, economy with Trump is going to increase numbers of Jobs, he brought stability to the economy, and a certain relief to south américa.

I've worked in the IT industry for almost 25 years. In that time, I learned that my responsibilities in the role don't define who I am as a person. The job pays for my interests. It allows me to spend more time as a husband and a father, buy land, grow vegetables, and raise chickens. How and where I devote my free time is what defines me.

Fantastic and true analysis, loved it!

Wishing all the things you said may come true, It's been really rough, god bless you 🙏

Bro started learning now. I am 47

Yeah, but a senior dev can also be a 30-year-old

Im telling you, the older you get, the more important it is to learn new things. If you are developing software and you are keeping up with new frameworks, new techniques, new technology, in my mind at least (unless you are massively genetically predisposed) there is no way you are going to end up with Alzheimer at 80 like so many people do these days. Also I actually think that while maybe some companies do value younger programmers more, it is more about the general flexibilty they bring. Or if you view it from a different angle it is easier to extort a young guy on his first job, push him to finish a project with a deadline that was never realistic given his 9/5 and have him work overtime at the weekend. In all other aspects I agree with you that experience is likely preferable, especially if you have some legacy code. I tried to get my dad back into coding a bit as well. He has a diploma in computer science and worked at HP for 30 years before becoming self-employed. They were still using these punching cards back when he was writing his first codes lol. No PC no internet no Chatgpt to help you out. Lets not forget that often enough those are the guys who pushed the field to the next step. The guys who worked on creating the internet, who know how to build a rest api from scratch and not just with django or flask.

You nailed everything brotha! Doing Dev-work at the age of 50 is not the end of the world for us.

55 and coding C#/.NET at a company that is challenging but doesn't need or ask me to work past a normal workday. They want progress, but not blood. Probably THE first non-dysfunctional company I've ever worked for. I have hobbies. I have family. I have interests outside of work. This company supports that as much as what I produce for them. I've learned that companies like mine might not invent the next Skynet, but they'll contribute for me to what really matters--life beyond work. And that's priceless.

I think you are exactly right... Thanks for sharing

Thinking to shift from backend (c#, 5 years+ exp) to game dev (Game design, level design). Maybe do my own games and start some business. I so hate interviews. Would be awesome to start something own. One big problem - I'm from Russia and gaming is almost gone from here because of you know i think. It makes this dream even more difficult to be implemented.

I have to admit, i worry about my age when it comes to this. I am 52 years old and i am currently on my second semester in my education in Denmark(AP Graduate in Computer Science). I have no idea how the job market will look at me when i come as a new graduate at age 54. I don't know if i will be able to find a job once i graduate.

Over 50 here. The problem is not softwaredeveloping itsself, but the people around you work with.

Move to Europe bro. No disrespect, and no money either - you'r income will be comparable with an income of the bus driver. Not sure which model is better.

Making long stories short: the unemployment rate is too high, and it gets even higher year.

Thanks so much, you understand the root cause of problems. Highly appreciated ! All the best, you new fan

At the end of the day this argument is pointless. What is important is actual numbers of how many developers over 50 are employed and whether pay they get is reflecting what the expect. Anything else is a moot argument and exercise in guessing and wishful thinking

can completely relate, earned a sub and a like

Should anybody be allowed to develop software before turning 50?

I needed this video right now. All you said it's true. Looking for a new job is really hard in this market. Moving away from a toxic workplace oriented to short-term money gains, cutting corners with inhuman practices on customers that doesn't tolerate shortcuts anymore. Being squeezed between disconnected managers and tech reality to build something good that's engaging. The spark of coding becomes an slave game. I left the front-end development to specialize in another field, happy with my choice, just have to find a non-toxic company.

Great video! Just one thing to note: it depends on where you're coming from. Here in Spain, being 50 years old is comparable to being 30 in the USA. The same applies to countries like Japan or Italy. It’s about living in healthier societies. Coding at 50 can simply be another hobby or even a professional pursuit-age is just a number. It all depends on how fit you are and how well your society or nation supports you in terms of healthcare, especially when it comes to brain health. 😊

50+ and I'm just tired. Not because of the tech or the pointless layers of BS that only seem to exist just to exist. I'm just tired and time is running out. I still love coding and solving problems. But I have to believe in the problem to solve it and I don't really believe in the problems anymore. Solving it fundamentally means nothing more than a paycheck now. Kinda sad really.

Also harsh reality is that you arent as important as you thought. Thats why workplace is getting worse in the first place.

I was fortunate to retire out of Tech at age 58. If I had of been younger or saved less, I would have been trapped, because the jobs are disappearing.

After 20+ years in the profession, I burnt out of my daily grind as a software developer. My radical change: At age 51, out of all choices in life, I decided to become an airline pilot, my childhood dream. Much laughed at by friends and family… That was 6 years ago. Today I sit on B767 flying cargo … and loving it. So, is 50 too old… for anything?

Literally just end H1B and immigrant visas.

Welcome to the world that every other technical and engineering professional has dealt with as management focused on outsourcing and financial engineering to meet quarterly numbers that only went up for the C-suite and the asset class owners. Now get back to work training your replacements.

51 here, started when I was 14. Still have loads of fun doing it. Still learning new stuff every day. Went from developer to CEO and co-owner of the small company. Sold and "retired" 5 years ago. My opinion is that you have to go wide and not be specialized in a to narrow field. Very soon I moved from full time development to only part time, but then rotating other roles in the company like business analyst, project manager, finances, then CEO. Yes, was still programming as a CEO (small company, up to 30 people). MBA education helped to mix it all up. In time, so much knowledge and experience is accumulated, and different areas of expertise interconnect, that opportunities just pop up everywhere. I'm far from excellent programmer, I'm far from excellent project manager, etc., but all those areas combined really works well. Also, invest in your retirement plan while you can. My early real-estate and tourism investments really pay off now so I don't have to work. But I still do program, every day, for my own mini startups to hand picked clients with good prices and long deadlines. Consulting too. I work when I want to, I do stuff I like when I want to. I accept only projects with flexible deadlines. But not sure if this can work in US, this is in EU, and in relatively small town. US business can be very different.

Usually, no. But unless you are EXTREMALY lucky, toxic workplace culture and declining project management culture wil get you. And learning fatique is real. It's not the skill issue, and experience is something less and less valuable especially in service industry, when usually response should be that thing is not worth doing.

Wow! I'm over 50 and life is great! I started seriously programming only a few years ago. What I found is that there are no jobs for 50+ except those that have not been created yet and I will be the one to create my job. The vast mjaoirty of programmers that I have met are not entrepreneurial. While a few may be intrapreneurial, spotting job creation opportunities are far beyond their periphery. Fortunately, I have always believed that my next job will be created by me and me alone. As a new programmer over 50, I am having fun and looking forward to shattering the myth that programming is only for those under 40.

True Tony i wear out. I dont want work. Pressure is more. Health risk is there

From India, it is true. Corporate companies make people slave and machine foe their profit. Only managers enjoy money

im a programmer; read the bible 🔥it is the true LIFE.

Tony, are you describing the oil & gas industry in Houston

I love my job but my job burns me out. The delusion is next level.

I am 3 years in as a data engineer in an unstable startup, looking for jobs just getting rejected. I’m in the UK and previously thought my experience would give me a good shot but I guess the quality isn’t high enough, the want for seniors and damn near unicorns makes things tough. A menagerie of applicants to jobs leaves employers spoilt for choice so they can lower prospective salaries and choose the height of the hoops we jump at a whim, because if you won’t someone sure as hell will. And as you so eloquently put yes, there is this invisible ghost chasing that says don’t let your competitor beat you. If you do you’re done and besides that there other co,petitions to face as well outsourcing, AI. It’s a damn culling, Darwinism, the mini mark zuckerbergs will survive the rest will fry or jump ship. It’s so hard to feel peace in this kind of job space, you need to be comfortable being made redundant in tech as it will happen and as such you need to be ready to find a new opportunity asap and have the necessary savings. Job security in tech, doesn’t exist each project is about 18 months unless you work for a product based company which is very hard, but it feels like tech is shaping out for roles to be short term contracts. All of this is so unstable, is there money sure, but my mental health is suffering, I am looking into other career paths as of now.

Yes.

I job hopped my way in the past 5 years from being freshly divorced and making a server wage to now making a 6 salary income in tech. Now that I'm here, I'm trying to make my exit because it does nothing for my soul. I'm grateful I was able to get to this cherished 6-figure goal, but now that I was able to do that, I know for a fact I can create my own income on MY terms!! Working with AI tools to help me get there.

Leaving? They’re all getting fired. Gotta replace as many US workers as possible with cheap foreign labor and AI, so the shareholders and investors make 50 million more per year, and on top of that, if you buy the most transactional president in US history, who will slash regulations that all these megalomaniacs hate, it’s a win win situation for them.

left fr new path, each and everything you said I hv gone through

Way is tech industry used interchangeable with software/IT

The whole corporate America sucks today.

So, should I just give up my data engineering tech transition. 😂😂😂. I am working in a shitty customer service job where I am the scapegoat for management decisions and I am planning to pivot back to tech again. All these videos are discouraging me. Don't know what to do. Game development is my dream but I can't get a job in my country.

You just explained having a job. Do ur own thing then and stop moaning

Welcome to the real life