Ha, funny I was looking for which comment to reply to and looks like I found it. I'm 47 and just started my first freelance gig after the startup I was with got bought by big blue.
Just finished my second day in an 'open layout' office of 20 somethings as a front-end lead (react/redux) after working remotely from home with a small team of 'seasoned' pros for the last couple of years.
I'm sure there were some raised eyebrows when I showed up but that seems to have passed now mostly because they see I know what I'm doing. I've had a few moments of reflection wondering what the hell am I doing here but I love software development and made a conscious choice not to take the management route.
Had my first of 2 kids @ 40 and find when I start slipping into a regrets of what I haven't accomplished I see them and am reminded of my real purpose these days.
I still feel young on the inside but sometimes look in the mirror and have to acknowledge I'm not 20 something anymore and that's a bummer. But I was walking to work this morning pondering all of this and walked passed someone sleeping on the street and checked myself.
I remember the first time I saw Doug Crockford and had a profound realization that you don't have to outgrow programming. Seems silly now but not at the time.
My dad is 77 and can still kick my ass on a squash court so I try to focus on what is still possible instead of reflecting on what I haven't done.
I'm still in my early thirties and while I already occasionally look at the early-twenties crowd with a sense of longing, I quickly snap out of that when I remember how much of a drama-filled rollercoaster it was, and how much of that drama seems so trivial now.
From my (perhaps still rather young) perspective, both the best and worst thing about getting older is that I don't care as much about things.
The good part is that I stopped caring so much about having lots of friends, doing crazy things, partying/drugs, a fight with my partner, having a partner, pleasing/angering my parents, etc. But the bad part is that if I'm not careful, I end up not caring about anything. I forget to make sure I pick enough 'things' to care about, and before I know it I spent months just 'existing'.
But even just 'existing' sometimes feels preferable to me to the extreme ups and downs of (my) youth.
I'm curious, excited and a bit anxious about finding out how things will progress as I get older though...
Just finished my second day in an 'open layout' office of 20 somethings as a front-end lead (react/redux) after working remotely from home with a small team of 'seasoned' pros for the last couple of years.
I'm sure there were some raised eyebrows when I showed up but that seems to have passed now mostly because they see I know what I'm doing. I've had a few moments of reflection wondering what the hell am I doing here but I love software development and made a conscious choice not to take the management route.
Had my first of 2 kids @ 40 and find when I start slipping into a regrets of what I haven't accomplished I see them and am reminded of my real purpose these days.
I still feel young on the inside but sometimes look in the mirror and have to acknowledge I'm not 20 something anymore and that's a bummer. But I was walking to work this morning pondering all of this and walked passed someone sleeping on the street and checked myself.
I remember the first time I saw Doug Crockford and had a profound realization that you don't have to outgrow programming. Seems silly now but not at the time.
My dad is 77 and can still kick my ass on a squash court so I try to focus on what is still possible instead of reflecting on what I haven't done.