Last night I went to an AWS meeting where we predominantly discussed AI. That would not have happened five years ago. Back then, AI was niche, experimental, and far from the mainstream of business conversations. Now, it is a central theme shaping strategy, capability, and careers.
That shift is not unique to AI. In technology, disruption is constant. Cloud adoption, containerisation, DevOps, data engineering, machine learning: roles and skills emerge almost overnight. What feels cutting edge today can look outdated within a few years.
And that is why the 100 year life matters for tech. Because if careers are going to span 60 years or more, the old three stage model of education, work, retirement simply does not hold up. Tech professionals are already living multi stage lives where careers are fluid, skills must be refreshed, and purpose shifts over time.
Why This Matters in Tech
If we plan our careers as though they are linear, we risk burnout, stagnation, or falling behind. A 100 year life changes the rules.
This matters because:
- Tech careers are rarely linear: New disciplines appear faster than organisations can draw org charts. The best talent adapts and pivots.
- Skills have a short shelf life: Coding languages, frameworks, and tools evolve constantly. Continuous learning is survival, not a nice-to-have.
- Purpose drives retention: In tech, people do not stay only for salary. They want meaningful problems to solve, autonomy, and growth.
- Networks matter: Many roles are filled through reputation and relationships. Building and nurturing your network compounds opportunities.
- Resilience is essential: The cognitive load in tech is high with context switching, sprints, outages, and shifting priorities. Without resilience, burnout is inevitable.
The 100 year life is already here in technology. The question is whether you drift through it with outdated expectations or take control, craft your own vision, and build your career in deliberate chapters.
Careers in Tech Are Not Ladders
In a 60 year career, progression is not a neat climb up a ladder. Nor should it be. The reality is sideways moves into new disciplines, pauses for reskilling, and complete reinventions. A developer might become a data scientist, then move into product leadership, then return to engineering. None of this is failure. It is progression in a multi stage life.
The best tech leaders I know are effective precisely because they have experienced breadth. They have worked across functions, industries, and challenges. That diversity of experience builds better decision making, empathy, and adaptability.
To thrive, you need to:
- Treat sideways moves as opportunities, not detours
- Make purposeful steps that reflect your values, not only your CV
- Commit to lifelong learning, both technical and personal
- Build networks inside and outside your company, because opportunities rarely come in isolation
Resilience in a Multi Stage Tech Career
Working in tech often means living in change. There is constant pressure to deliver, to switch between projects, and to absorb new technologies. That creates a heavy cognitive load.
Resilience in this context does not mean pushing through exhaustion. It means knowing when to pause, when to replenish, and when to adapt. It means creating space for recovery so that innovation and creativity can thrive.
Change is hard. Failure stings. But in tech, these are the crucibles of growth. The best engineers, leaders, and teams get better not because they avoid failure but because they learn from it. Curiosity and adaptability are not fixed traits. They are muscles you train.
Purpose Evolves
Purpose is not one thing you find and keep forever. In a long, multi stage career it will change. What drives you in your twenties might not be what inspires you in your forties. And what matters in your forties might not sustain you into your sixties.
That is not inconsistency. That is growth. A fulfilling life and career is built from a series of chapters, each with its own meaning.
The key is to take ownership of your story. This is your choice. Your vision. Your narrative. Success is not defined by one destination. It is built by consciously creating the right chapters for you at the right time.
Becoming, Always
Michelle Obama put it best: “Becoming is never giving up on the idea that there is more growing to be done.”
In technology, that idea could not be more relevant. The qualities that sustain us in a 100 year life such as resilience, curiosity, and adaptability are not things we are born with. They are practices. They strengthen the more we use them.
Only you know what is right for you. But if you embrace the idea of becoming, never finished and always growing, you will not just survive a long career in tech. You will build one that is deeply fulfilling.
