Ask HN: Programmer's Best Years

3 TheAlchemist 5 6/4/2025, 7:59:17 AM

Question for older guys here - at what age were you at your best ?

Not necessary in terms of career progression, more in terms of your craft.

Comments (5)

scrapheap · 2d ago

I'm in my early 50s and each year I still feel I'm better at my craft than I was the year before, which was better than the year before that.

I think that in some ways I've been lucky as I started back when you could hold the entire knowledge of how your computer works in your head backed up by a single manual (seriously the old manuals for 8bit computers were some of the best documentation that I've ever seen).

That knowledge was then built upon bit by bit as the technology advanced. So I've never been overwhelmed by the mass of information that someone starting today would need to get their heads round (Respect to those who have started to learn their craft in the last 5 years and have a deep understanding of how everything fits together).

solardev · 2d ago

> I think that in some ways I've been lucky as I started back when you could hold the entire knowledge of how your computer works in your head backed up by a single manual

Yeah, that's a great point. We were lucky to have already had a built-up knowledge of the "basics" by the time the complexity started to ramp exponentially.

It's one thing to have had years to learn basic mouse clicks, internet usage, BASIC, etc. and then to gradually have new techs spring up around you, one at a time. There were entire years (maybe half decades) where the most exciting buzz was peer-to-peer file-sharing, lol, something we just take for granted now.

I can't imagine what it'd be like to be born into a world where magic algorithms can already program better than most people, in ways we don't fully understand, while being bombarded by misinformation and advertising 24x7x365. You're overwhelmed from the day you're born =/

But humans are adaptable... the kids probably laugh at us old fogeys and wonder how we weren't bored with such simple techs :) This is all they've ever known.

solardev · 2d ago

40 now. In my teens and 20s, I was much more curious and eager to spend hours and days learning everything about every part of the stack. I started building websites when I was 7 or 8 years old and just kinda kept going, but peaked in the 20s for sure.

But I didn't learn Javascript till my 30s, and then transitioned into that as my full time job after a couple years.

My more recent jobs have become a lot easier and more relaxed, mostly just riding off what I had learned from earlier years.

That also means I'm way behind the curve now, and will probably be completely obsolete in a couple more years. I don't have the same interest in learning yet another language or framework as I once did. The industry has no use for tired old men like me who don't know anything about AI, lol.

gary17the · 2d ago

From my experience, the "common assumption" that your brain works best only when you are in your 20s or 30s is a complete and utter nonsense. You might get a bit more burned out with time or simply become less passionate about technology in itself or professional careers in general and instead care more about your real-world life, but if you keep your body in good physical condition and keep pushing your brain, you only become more efficient and faster at programming every year, due to your accumulated experience and improved intuition. (Consider the Linus Torvalds guy.) It is only the corporate environment that actually forces you to switch to managerial responsibilities.

solardev · 2d ago

It's not just management. Neuroplasticity, from what I understand, can indeed be affected by your lifestyle (as you implied). But there's also the changing demands on your time. Many people are single or casually dating in their 20s and 30s, and have evenings and weekends to spend learning new things or playing with side projects. Then family and kids roll around, aging parents to take care of, eventually your own health issues... the demands of midlife and beyond will compete for your time and attention and leave many people with fewer resources (time, energy, money) to spend on intellectual gratification.

People like Linus are the exception rather than the rule, I think. Stallman maybe even more so? Sometimes I envy them, and sometimes I wonder how happy and balanced the rest of their lives are (maybe they're perfectly happy? I have no idea).