I have a couple ideas for you from my own experience. There's about a bajillion C/D+ stage 100-500 person software companies in any B2B vertical you could mention who would fight hard for your type of experience. Not necessarily SaaS click-and-drool tools for corporate drones, but unique and opinionated products that have some significant engineering innovation inside. Those companies have essentially no ability to a…
Ask HN: Where to Work After 40?
271–280 of 283 posts
Re: Ask HN: Where to Work After 40?
#272Re: Ask HN: Where to Work After 40?
#273Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't understand the need to argue about absolutely everything that so many tech dudes have. Who are you trying to convince? Anyone here can can easily Google: does the brain slow down with aging But maybe yours doesn't – maybe you will live forever at 110% efficiency, like Elon, or Bryan Johnson, powered by the blood of young virgins. Good for you.
I do not get why some tech people read some random articles in internet and think they are neurologist, experts in endocrinology, etc… ahhh Hubris. Now I do not know by what measure my brain gets slower, and I do not care. Productivity can be achieved in many ways. Let me tell you about a friend of mine: he was unable to study engineering in his 20, he was barely able to keep a job. Was doing minimal wage… then (mayb…
Does that make me a worse person or a worse employee or a candidate for euthanasia? No, I never said or even suggested it did. I'm not sure why you are moving the goalpost and talking about your friend's wonderful life, his stock options, sex life, etc. Good for him, but it's got nothing to do with AGE SLOWS DOWN OUR BRAINS.
Re: Ask HN: Where to Work After 40?
#274Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't understand the need to argue about absolutely everything that so many tech dudes have. Who are you trying to convince? Anyone here can can easily Google: does the brain slow down with aging But maybe yours doesn't – maybe you will live forever at 110% efficiency, like Elon, or Bryan Johnson, powered by the blood of young virgins. Good for you.
brain aging is not unlike say aging bodies for athletes, eventually you won’t be able to compete at the highest level. but just like athletes change the way they play as they age so do people in professions where they use their brain. michael jordan was ridiculous in his prime, basically outrunning and outjumping everyone. as he aged he was still ridiculous - once he could not outrun and outjump his opponents he deve…
Re: Ask HN: Where to Work After 40?
#275Earlier quoted context omitted.
I do not get why some tech people read some random articles in internet and think they are neurologist, experts in endocrinology, etc… ahhh Hubris. Now I do not know by what measure my brain gets slower, and I do not care. Productivity can be achieved in many ways. Let me tell you about a friend of mine: he was unable to study engineering in his 20, he was barely able to keep a job. Was doing minimal wage… then (mayb…
I am responding to the use of the word "slower" in the comment at the top. I am in the relevant age group (are you??), and my brain is definitely *SLOWER*. Brain speed - that is the only thing I'm discussing here. Does that make me a worse person or a worse employee or a candidate for euthanasia? No, I never said or even suggested it did. I'm not sure why you are moving the goalpost and talking about your friend's wo…
Hu… so you are from those than only take advice from a doctor when he already had the same illness as you, and if he didn’t, he has no idea what is talking about… and AGAIN btw, ad hominem argument… it cannot be that that is all you have!
Just for the record: it does not matter if I’m in that age group, but I’m.
The only person here moving the goal, and abandoning discussions by not replying or making ad hominem arguments when shown that you are plain wrong here is you, btw, other people have repeatedly pointed that out, is not that I said that.
Now back to track, because you want to derail the discussion just for the sake of “winning”:
I was replying to your comment, where you stated: “Experience, wisdom, there may be many benefits to employees over 50 – but we crunch data slower, let's not fool ourselves.”
My interpretation of that sentence is that at some point in life, everyone will not be able to keep the pace at some intellectual tasks, and even when I do agree 100% that brain ages, and that some people may experience difficulties in very demanding environments (e.g. ATC) for the vast majority people between 40 and 60 (and even beyond, with less degree) is the point when they reach their maximum potential. The “speed at crunching” is a minimal part of everyday life and work, so minimal in fact, that even if you get bad/slow at it, you can compensate by pre optimization: that is, to first filter, then crunch.
Also btw you mention physical stamina. Which is IMHO totally irrelevant to the discussion. I know of no work, (physical or intellectual) that needs stamina… if anything life and work is about endurance, not stamina.
Now to be clear: I’m not discussing here for winning an argument, or because I enjoy it. If fact is terrible to have to discuss with someone like you, because you insult immediately. I’m trying to get a point here through, because I have seen just how bad can it be, for the mental health of some people, to believe that they are somehow “getting old”. I have seen people go down into a deep depression, just because some random charlatan in internet said “from X years things are going to be so” doing nonsensical generalizations.
But I assume you will lose again the opportunity to discuss and learn something, by throwing some ad hominem arguments, or just insulting without any logical following from the discussion.
Re: Ask HN: Where to Work After 40?
#276Earlier quoted context omitted.
brain aging is not unlike say aging bodies for athletes, eventually you won’t be able to compete at the highest level. but just like athletes change the way they play as they age so do people in professions where they use their brain. michael jordan was ridiculous in his prime, basically outrunning and outjumping everyone. as he aged he was still ridiculous - once he could not outrun and outjump his opponents he deve…
I hear you, but even big tech companies give mid-career job candidates "tests" that heavily involve the speed of basic calculation. Doing the job is not the issue, and I agree with you about "working smarter." Getting the job can be an issue.
Re: Ask HN: Where to Work After 40?
#277Earlier quoted context omitted.
This person sounds incredibly negative and delusional. We're not animals that put people into a job in there 20s and say your career is over in 15 years. If your worldview is that people are animals, then yeah, you know. Work on yourself.
You are correct, we are not animals. I do not view us as animals, but it is not my view that matters. The view that matters is that of the corporations who do the hiring, and for the most part they view us as expendable resources (I mean, come on, it's literally in the term "Human Resources") to be acquired and used until all possible value has been extracted from us, at which point we are discarded. This, I feel, is…
The older I get the more stubborn I've become in my beliefs.
Re: Ask HN: Where to Work After 40?
#278Earlier quoted context omitted.
brain aging is not unlike say aging bodies for athletes, eventually you won’t be able to compete at the highest level. but just like athletes change the way they play as they age so do people in professions where they use their brain. michael jordan was ridiculous in his prime, basically outrunning and outjumping everyone. as he aged he was still ridiculous - once he could not outrun and outjump his opponents he deve…
I hear you, but even big tech companies give mid-career job candidates "tests" that heavily involve the speed of basic calculation. Doing the job is not the issue, and I agree with you about "working smarter." Getting the job can be an issue.
this is 100% NOT a thing... a company would get their pants sued for age discrimination if they even broached anything like this in conversation let alone implemented it ...
Re: Ask HN: Where to Work After 40?
#279Earlier quoted context omitted.
This. I'm now working at a small- to mid-sized (~80 people) local B2B company. Pay is fine, they offer 100% WFH if you want, but they also have nice offices, they make good and stable revenue with reasonable growth targets, the actual work is somewhere between interesting and mind-numbingly stupid (e.g. integrating with poorly documented enterprise software - can be fun, but can also be aggravating), people are mostl…
A reasonable interview process is huge - avoid the Leetcode charade.
Re: Ask HN: Where to Work After 40?
#280Earlier quoted context omitted.
I hear you, but even big tech companies give mid-career job candidates "tests" that heavily involve the speed of basic calculation. Doing the job is not the issue, and I agree with you about "working smarter." Getting the job can be an issue.
but even big tech companies give mid-career job candidates "tests" that heavily involve the speed of basic calculation this is 100% NOT a thing... a company would get their pants sued for age discrimination if they even broached anything like this in conversation let alone implemented it ...