Ask HN: When is it too old to be an intern? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: When is it too old to be an intern?

#21

Post by jlees » Sat, Jan 04, 2014, 6:38 PM UTC

I can't imagine it'll make any difference at the hiring stage (I certainly interviewed my fair share of older interns and often found them to be very strong).

The only way in which I think it will make a difference is if you end up working for a large tech company which has an intern community. It'll be harder to fit in socially, but you won't be the only older intern in general -- some of the PhD interns I worked with were late-twenties, early-thirties -- so you won't be totally alone.

Re: Ask HN: When is it too old to be an intern?

#22

Post by jpelker » Sat, Jan 04, 2014, 6:38 PM UTC

mikecane wrote: post #6

Knew a guy in his his forties who wanted to work for an ad agency. Convinced them to use him for free for a while as a test and they wound up hiring him. YMMV.

Cool! Slave labor and/or illegal minimum wage violations. Sounds like a great company.

Only an asshole company would do this to a future employee. And only an asshole would allow themselves to be exploited like this.

Guys: work on contract. Get paid. Your lack of self-esteem affects everyone else in the workforce trying to earn a living. Don’t sell yourself--or your peers--short.

Re: Ask HN: When is it too old to be an intern?

#23

Post by phamilton » Sat, Jan 04, 2014, 6:47 PM UTC

I wasn't as old as you, but I did an internship when I was 23. I was married and we were expecting our first child at the end of the summer. From the perspective of work, it was fine. It was however a larger company and there were 20 interns. They all lived in intern housing and hung out together. It wasn't a big deal, but my intern experience was different from theirs.

Re: Ask HN: When is it too old to be an intern?

#24

Post by Casseres » Sat, Jan 04, 2014, 6:50 PM UTC

Chris Gardner was 27 or 28 and homeless when he became a trainee at Dean Witter Reynolds. If the name isn't familiar, a movie was based on him called The Pursuit of Happyness (2006), played by Will Smith.

If you meet the hiring manager's qualifications, you'll probably get a call for an interview. Just be sure to be ready to explain why they should take you.

Re: Ask HN: When is it too old to be an intern?

#25

Post by steven2012 » Sat, Jan 04, 2014, 7:46 PM UTC

Most people will find it a bargain to get a 31 year old intern, with lots of experience. I wouldn't worry about it one second.

Re: Ask HN: When is it too old to be an intern?

#26

Post by ritchiea » Sat, Jan 04, 2014, 8:48 PM UTC

I don't think you have anything to worry about. It's common to do internships in grad school & it's common for people to do grad school in their 30s. Also be assured the expectations will be different & you will have a much greater opportunity to do meaningful work than a younger intern. The best thing you can do is not obsess over the title intern & figure out who you can do some interesting work with that will count toward your school requirement.

Re: Ask HN: When is it too old to be an intern?

#27

Post by wisty » Sat, Jan 04, 2014, 9:46 PM UTC

Most people will expect you to rapidly move to a higher paid position with more responsibility. If you're pitching this as a way to get your foot in the door of a company where you think you'll have a lot of potential, it makes sense.

Re: Ask HN: When is it too old to be an intern?

#28

Post by tostitos1979 » Sat, Jan 04, 2014, 11:48 PM UTC

Casseres wrote: post #24

Chris Gardner was 27 or 28 and homeless when he became a trainee at Dean Witter Reynolds. If the name isn't familiar, a movie was based on him called The Pursuit of Happyness (2006), played by Will Smith. If you meet the hiring manager's qualifications, you'll probably get a call for an interview. Just be sure to be ready to explain why they should take you.

That story was very inspirational to me. I know Hollywood glamorizes but it is a beautiful story in its own right. Good post.

Re: Ask HN: When is it too old to be an intern?

#29

Post by crazy5sheep » Sun, Jan 05, 2014, 12:10 AM UTC

jpelker wrote: post #22

mikecane wrote: post #6

Knew a guy in his his forties who wanted to work for an ad agency. Convinced them to use him for free for a while as a test and they wound up hiring him. YMMV.

Cool! Slave labor and/or illegal minimum wage violations. Sounds like a great company. Only an asshole company would do this to a future employee. And only an asshole would allow themselves to be exploited like this. Guys: work on contract. Get paid. Your lack of self-esteem affects everyone else in the workforce trying to earn a living. Don’t sell yourself--or your peers--short.

Anyone wants to get paid, but not everyone has the chance at the very beginning.

Re: Ask HN: When is it too old to be an intern?

#30

Post by codeonfire » Sun, Jan 05, 2014, 12:16 AM UTC

If you get on the wrong team it may not go well. What will happen is that your managers and people you work with will pretend you are 22 and treat you like a 22 year old undergrad student.

If on the other hand you are brought on specifically as a grad student info science intern working in a info science team, things may go better for you.