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Ask HN: Is there a list of grey-hair-friendly IT companies?

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Re: Ask HN: Is there a list of grey-hair-friendly IT companies?

#41

Post by e_i_pi_2 »

I think the biggest thing that I haven't seen in another comment is that companies aren't being explicitly ageist, they just want cheaper labor and younger/less experienced people are willing to work for less money. I'm sure plenty of companies would be more than happy if you said "I have decades of experience but I'll take the salary of a junior position".

Without something similar to a union or a change in laws to better incentivize pay raises, I don't see a great way out of this :/

I'd say my company is "grey-hair-friendly", but they're still hiring for way more junior roles than senior roles. I'm not sure if there are companies that explicitly don't hire junior engineers, but then you'd at least be competing against other people looking for the same salary range. Working with a recruiter might also be a good idea if they can help find companies that would be a good match

Re: Ask HN: Is there a list of grey-hair-friendly IT companies?

#42

Post by stetrain »

greentxt wrote: post #37
RockRobotRock wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Have you asked yourself why you hang out on this website given how you feel about startups? Maybe they just like technology.

Is that ok though? Some would say "that's not what hn is for." I've read that a lot. Usually the follow up is something about folks being intellectually curious, not just people who "like technology." I think this comes up a lot and isn't so clear cut as many claim it to be.

Is what ok? Liking technology? Using HN? I'm not sure why we should be a gatekeeper of what someone likes or whether they hang out on this site.

The HN guidelines cover what topics are relevant to submit as new posts here, and cover civility and usefulness of comments. That seems good enough.

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

Re: Ask HN: Is there a list of grey-hair-friendly IT companies?

#43

Post by wrs »

mepian wrote: post #29
exhaze wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I actively hate startups Have you asked yourself why you hang out on this website given how you feel about startups? Also, is it really fair to apply such a strong statement to all startups? Look at your screen and the browser you're using, the user interface concepts, the computer itself. Where do you think those came from?

>Look at your screen Liquid crystal displays were invented at RCA, an old radio monopoly. >and the browser you're using CERN, a government-funded research lab. >the user interface concepts SRI, a government-funded research lab, and Xerox, an old copier monopoly. >the computer itself ENIAC was a US Army project.

For the browser, don’t forget the University of Illinois.

Re: Ask HN: Is there a list of grey-hair-friendly IT companies?

#44

Post by homarp »

snakeyjake wrote: post #26

I don't know if this is a startup or valley or techbro thing but in my industry there is no ageism that I can detect. In aerospace they seem to prefer people who know where the bodies are buried, know how to bury bodies, have buried a few bodies themselves, and can instruct others on body burying.

>body burying

not related to https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40230790 or https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39673589

Re: Ask HN: Is there a list of grey-hair-friendly IT companies?

#45

Post by inferiorhuman »

pdx6 wrote: post #17

You could add just about any University to the list. At least in California, many UC IT people left due to poor pay and long hours, however the UTPE CWA 9119 union has grown in numbers and strength and the trend in pay and hours is quickly improving. There's plenty of gray beards, the UC is starving for seasoned talent, and the HMO plans are inexpensive and cover a lot -- 5 years to vest in the pension that matches n…

   many UC IT people left
UCSF (and I believe other campuses) went all in on shipping IT jobs overseas so job security isn't great. And the pay is… not great. I went looking for examples and was immediately reminded just how poorly organized their job listings are. Cal actually doesn't show anything until you click through to "featured listings" — that doesn't actually show any listings but has a link to the aggregated job listings across all campuses.

A Unix BOFH spot that tops out at under $180k in a HCOL area? It's something I guess.

http://jobs.universityofcalifornia.edu/?action=search

Re: Ask HN: Is there a list of grey-hair-friendly IT companies?

#47

Post by 999900000999 »

exhaze wrote: post #19
999900000999 wrote: post #10

You want old finance companies. In fact any company older that 30 probably won't care. I'm not a grey hair yet, but I actively hate startups. We aren't changing the world, we're helping cat photos load 3 milliseconds faster...

> I actively hate startups Have you asked yourself why you hang out on this website given how you feel about startups? Also, is it really fair to apply such a strong statement to all startups? Look at your screen and the browser you're using, the user interface concepts, the computer itself. Where do you think those came from?

Fine.

I hate *working for* startups. It's fun when your young, not when you have bills.

Re: Ask HN: Is there a list of grey-hair-friendly IT companies?

#48

Post by vitaminCPP »

e_i_pi_2 wrote: post #41

I think the biggest thing that I haven't seen in another comment is that companies aren't being explicitly ageist, they just want cheaper labor and younger/less experienced people are willing to work for less money. I'm sure plenty of companies would be more than happy if you said "I have decades of experience but I'll take the salary of a junior position". Without something similar to a union or a change in laws to…

This is match my experiences.

Saddly, bad middle manager wants to hire a yesman (or women). Not an experienced engineer that will challenge them by highlighting to upper management the project technical debt, the lack of tests or the broken CD pipeline.

Re: Ask HN: Is there a list of grey-hair-friendly IT companies?

#49

Post by loco5niner »

jejeyyy77 wrote: post #28
999900000999 wrote: post #10

You want old finance companies. In fact any company older that 30 probably won't care. I'm not a grey hair yet, but I actively hate startups. We aren't changing the world, we're helping cat photos load 3 milliseconds faster...

you don't want to make the world a better place by reinventing the way people do email??

Email is already good, please don't "fix" it.

Re: Ask HN: Is there a list of grey-hair-friendly IT companies?

#50

Post by nunez »

chasd00 wrote: post #22

Consulting industry won't care. If you can bill hours at 40% more than you cost then any firm will happily employ you for as long as you want to work.

This. Consulting pays old heads a lot of money if they've got skills and industry experience.
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