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Ask HN: Is ageism in tech still a problem?

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Re: Ask HN: Is ageism in tech still a problem?

#181

Post by thorin »

softwaredoug wrote: post #44

I experience it differently. As an IC that’s relatively respected it my field, I think my seniority seems like a threat to some leaders. Because my word carries weight and I tend to be less obsequious with little to lose in these interactions. I have less of a problem to saying “the emperor has no clothes”. Younger ICs don’t have this luxury. They go along despite their reservations and often feel they don’t know bet…

I think I agree, I used to see a lot of highly experienced older contractors who probably had FU money. They had far more experience than any of the leadership and were normally older and would not hold back. This was especially when working with Java/C++ but now even C# and JavaScript obviously have people with ~25yrs of experience working with people with <5 years who could really do with the support. I've seen people like this get dragged out of the building or just walk out and happily start somewhere else the next week due to demand.

Re: Ask HN: Is ageism in tech still a problem?

#182

Post by thorin »

dzonga wrote: post #40

I would rather work with "old" engineers rather than 25/30 year old "senior" engineers. Places with older engineers means: 1. things are done properly 2. less to break 3. no need to be on call 4. excellent WLB (no grind n burnout culture) 5. excellent mentoring and learning opportunities 6. sniper / laser focus on business fundamentals / making money rather than making noise on the internet streets

Would agree with this to an extent, however most younger managers would not agree, as they are "agile" and have deadlines to worry about.

Re: Ask HN: Is ageism in tech still a problem?

#183

Post by Simulacra »

IAmBroom wrote: post #131
eloisant wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think staying curious and keep learning regardless of your age is key. You don't really want to be stuck in whatever tech was popular during your 20's or 30's and ignore or reject whatever is new.

That's true for the hiree - but it's not an answer for the hiring group. How do they effectively discriminate for candidates who are apt in current tech, AND will stay current in upcoming years?

Show your work

Re: Ask HN: Is ageism in tech still a problem?

#184

Post by mspool »

This isn't just an issue for software engineers and I don't believe it's an issue just in tech, but is more widespread, although I don't have direct evidence of that. What I do know is that I've been on the job market for 16 months and while I've had many interviews and made it through several rounds for multiple positions, that final offer hasn't come yet. The cynic in me says it's because I'm older, white, male and straight. The optimist in me says someone better got the position. Who knows which is true, certainly not me.

Re: Ask HN: Is ageism in tech still a problem?

#185

Post by TXAggieTPM »

We (Boomers) really don't get credit for the really tough problems we've solved with no cloud, no GPU, 8 bit CPUs and a meg of RAM. We did that when we were young and no one seems to appreciate what we've learned since then. I'm a TPM and there experience is everything if you are horizontal (i.e. silo busting).

A potential resource is this Podcast/Site: https://www.itgetslateearly.com/ I fast forward some as the host has a chip on her shoulder but her guests have nuggets. I really need to work out feeding the podcast to an AI Agent to extract those tasty bits!

Re: Ask HN: Is ageism in tech still a problem?

#186

Post by 0xffff2 »

zeroCalories wrote: post #153
0xffff2 wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Very much my impression too. I work for an org with sites scattered across the country. My colleagues in Virginia still regularly wear suits, while I in California haven't even owned a suit in many years. For no particular reason I can discern, the gradient seems to be pretty linear. Our Texas people are right in the middle formality wise.

It entirely depends on the industry. Banks, government, defense, etc. will feel very stuffy even on the west coast, while web companies will have greasy unshaven slobs even in Manhattan.

I'm sure that's true, but the interesting thing to me is that it's the gradient exists within an industry too, at least for me in government R&D, we're not at all stuffy out here in the West.

Re: Ask HN: Is ageism in tech still a problem?

#187

Post by kal-el1974 »

Yes. And also culture-ism. My age is only coincident with the fact that I'm a private person and don't like to do the "company culture" events like dressing up for Halloween or messing around at the office like it's kindergarten. I want to come in, do my work, and go home to my real life and family. I'm not "family" with anyone at work. None of them are related to or depend on me like that.

Re: Ask HN: Is ageism in tech still a problem?

#188

Post by goatlover »

cafard wrote: post #139
goatlover wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't understand what physical appearance has to do with tech.

https://folklore.org/Gobble_Gobble_Gobble.html?sort=date

That was an abusive interview even if the candidate wasn't the right fit.

Re: Ask HN: Is ageism in tech still a problem?

#189

Post by p1dda »

blindriver wrote: post #177
p1dda wrote: post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thank you for your insight about the hiring environment! What are your thoughts about getting involved in an open-source project or something else to get some more experience?

definitely go for it, it's a great way to get recognition. However, it's a terrible way to learn because getting a mentor to teach you how to make changes will be very tough. But if you can, it's great because it's real work and real code changes.

I have mentored and been mentored and it's a tough process but necessary. It's what is stopping a lot of people learning a new profession later in life in my opinion, who would want to mentor an older person? I mentor young people with lots of energy and they are often very eager to learn.

Re: Ask HN: Is ageism in tech still a problem?

#190

Post by UK-Al05 »

jghn wrote: post #102
sizzzzlerz wrote: post #96

Even more. The two primary reasons I believe it harder to find tech jobs when you're older are 1) Your salary demands exceed the budgeted amount for the position 2) You probably aren't willing to work insane hours any more Even if your skill set vastly exceeds that of a wet-behind-the-ears engineer and can work at a far higher level, be more productive, and produce higher quality work, it's almost impossible to make…

> 1) Your salary demands exceed the budgeted amount for the position I've thought about this a lot lately. This is true for the obvious reasons, but it's more true than it seems. As an older, experienced dev I sometimes flirt with the idea of aiming for a mid-level developer job where I can just cruise. I'd expect the paycheck to be proportionately smaller than where I'm at now, but that's fine. But there's no way th…

Well if you're not eager to climb the ladder, they have no leverage to make you work hard.
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