Title: In my immediate family there is no precedent for following a career. I&#x27;m the first one to graduate college, so I approach my jobs like how my dad treats his blue-collar job. Just doing something that pays the bills. I do like programming otherwise but not with the pressure to be super-ambitious.<p>I want a software engineer job where most people are basically coasting, but everyone seems to look down at my slow career growth. They expect a &quot;story&quot; in my resume with a definite &quot;beginning&quot; and &quot;end&quot; with development and accomplishments in the middle. Sorry, but I haven&#x27;t yet adjusted to that mindset and I don&#x27;t know if I can.<p>This worked fine for me in 2010, but in 2015 and beyond it has gotten way more difficult to get job offers. I never even have a proper FT job. or retirement accounts. I&#x27;m now a part-time freelancer that chases after short projects but doesn&#x27;t earn enough for a livable salary.<p>Is this the industry telling me I&#x27;m not cut out to be a <i>career</i> programmer? Am I just now limited to using programming as a hobby, to tinker around with home projects while I take a job in something very different? I don&#x27;t know what else I&#x27;d like to do (that doesn&#x27;t require returning to college) and I don&#x27;t like where that possibility is heading for me.<p>I just wanted to model my career after the pacing of my parents&#x27; jobs since that is what I have been most accustomed to in my life. Is there still room for older but lower-end programmers who work like this?
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