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Ask HN: Joining Big Tech in One’s 40s

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Re: Ask HN: Joining Big Tech in One’s 40s

#61

Post by Rickasaurus »

robdimarco wrote: post #28

I have very similar experience. I'm 42, spent most of my career in startups / small companies in CTO-level positions, but last year took an engineering position in big tech (at one of the companies you mention). My suggestion for someone with a lot of experience is to focus more on networking your way in to the company than on skills brush up. Find contacts at the company(s) you are interested in and try to set up di…

As someone in a CTO position now but being a serious IC ~5 years ago, I'm curious. How was the transition back for you? I love my job, but I also miss it.

Re: Ask HN: Joining Big Tech in One’s 40s

#62

Post by jlg23 »

It basically boils down to: what are you more comfortable with?

If it is management, go for it.

If it is coding, be open about your expectations and go with a company that values your experience while accepting that you're there 9 to 5.

Re: Ask HN: Joining Big Tech in One’s 40s

#63

Post by complianceowl »

jimmyvalmer wrote: post #32
complianceowl wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not to be disrespectful, but your response sounds like those arrogant Stack Overflow responses that are simply not helpful. There is enough in his question for anyone to provide a proper answer.

> Not to be disrespectful It's okay to be disrespectful. It's not okay to preface that disrespect with an overtly false disclaimer.

It's actually NOT okay to be disrespectful. Saying someone's response was "arrogant" is not disrespectful; calling them stupid for being arrogant - that would be disrespectful.

Perceiving my comment to be disrespectful, I think, is a part of the larger societal problem that exists today; namely, of people being overly-sensative.

Friend, I will gently invite you to toughen up.

Re: Ask HN: Joining Big Tech in One’s 40s

#64

Post by complianceowl »

Kirby64 wrote: post #37
complianceowl wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not to be disrespectful, but your response sounds like those arrogant Stack Overflow responses that are simply not helpful. There is enough in his question for anyone to provide a proper answer.

The only question (and it appears to be the majority of the responses here) that looks like you can answer well is if other people have done what he's considering doing. Maybe that's the discussion he's looking for; the comments to that affect are definitely good. The remaining questions regarding coding vs. management or what skills to 'brush up on' are very person-dependent beyond general platitudes. Sure, discussi…

I appreciate the response.

Re: Ask HN: Joining Big Tech in One’s 40s

#65

Post by vikasg »

o_____________o wrote: post #44
braythwayt wrote: post #21

Anybody in their 40s or older has valuable experience above and beyond ephemeral value of “Hitting the ground running with Cabbage and Sprouts containerized with Cuper9s using ES2020 and JSxyz.” One way to deliver that experience is in delivery management, that is, being responsible for teams that ship stuff. Another way to deliver that experience is in people management. Not all companies equate this with the previo…

> it’s best to think of yourself as a manger without authority, rather than thinking of yourself as an engineer with authority That's great, and resonates

Andy Grove talks about this in "High Output Management". He says there are two kinds of managers, "know-how" managers and "position" managers. Both have a certain amount of authority, and a successful technology company needs both.

If you're a senior enough person who doesn't want to manage people, you should think of yourself as a "know-how" (knowledge, experience) manager and find a role that allows for that.

Re: Ask HN: Joining Big Tech in One’s 40s

#66

Post by cmsonger »

I joined Google at the age of 50. Just send a resume. They are not trying to surprise you and want you to do your best. Consequently, not only do they tell you what to expect from the interview process, the recruiter will send you a PDF that talks through what to expect along with a reading list you can use to prepare. (For example: cracking the coding interview and CLRS are on it.)

That said, I just went in cold. If you've been coding and are current in one of the 3 big interview languages (C++/Java/Python), and if you still understand your undergraduate level algorithms course and the corresponding vocabulary, then you know what you need to know.

Side note: A thing that no one told me but that I had to figure out on my own is that your technical writing skills are one of the most important skills to doing well at google. It was unironically said to me that the highest reward/effort one can do at Google is to write documents. The person who said it was correct about that IMO.

Re: Ask HN: Joining Big Tech in One’s 40s

#67

Post by [deleted] »

StevePerkins wrote: post #59
southphillyman wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks, I hear a lot of stories of people being down leveled but it sounds like some companies have strict bands related to YOE. L4 appears to be mid level and I guess 7 yrs if on the upper limits of that but you'd think they'd give you the option of being down leveled or not to get your foot in the door.

> "it sounds like some companies have strict bands related to YOE" I don't see how this could be legal, even in an employer-friendly a nation as the U.S. Sure, there are some outlier candidates who enter the field later in life as a second career. But for the overwhelming majority of candidates, "years of experience" is a very thin proxy for "age". I can understand requiring a minimum YOE, but there's no reasonable j…

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: Joining Big Tech in One’s 40s

#68

Post by decebalus1 »

cmsonger wrote: post #66

I joined Google at the age of 50. Just send a resume. They are not trying to surprise you and want you to do your best. Consequently, not only do they tell you what to expect from the interview process, the recruiter will send you a PDF that talks through what to expect along with a reading list you can use to prepare. (For example: cracking the coding interview and CLRS are on it.) That said, I just went in cold. If…

You advice is sound but incomplete.

> if you still understand your undergraduate level algorithms course and the corresponding vocabulary, then you know what you need to know

speaking from experience, this would not get you nowhere near the level you have to be for passing the Google interview (or any other FAANG interview for that matter). You need to study long and hard in addition to solving OJ problems and familiarize yourself with different problem patterns. Let me give you and example of what I got at Google: https://leetcode.com/problems/remove-duplicate-letters/ Solving this problem optimally with only what you remember from undergrad algo courses is impossible. You either need to have a knack for these types of challenges or solve enough of them to identify a solution pattern.

Re: Ask HN: Joining Big Tech in One’s 40s

#69

Post by harel »

I don't know where you live, but I'm guessing you're in the US. I'm 43 as well, been mostly the startup world for 20+ years - similar journey (worked, founded, etc). After my last startup got sold (not at best terms), I also took the time to relax a bit (and ended up rebooting another business and starting another instead).

Anyway, after my timeout I got back into contracting. First of all, I've never encountered ageism and my experience was always appreciated. It could be to do with my attitude, or maybe ageism is not a thing in the UK as it is elsewhere. I think attitude helps and if you come across as a friendly experienced person you will be able to get in.

My question to you would be why go for the "Larger" tech companies? Why not focus on established smaller companies? I personally equate those with start-up level stress but less ability to affect things. Again, just my personal perspective. Second point - do try contracting. It's quite liberating not being tied to a place in a long term mental-bond. The market is great for contracts (at least in the UK).

Re: Ask HN: Joining Big Tech in One’s 40s

#70

Post by kemiller »

powowow wrote: post #35

I'm a Sr Manager at a FAANG company (and I started here in my 40s). My direct reports include other SDMs, senior product managers, and staff/principal engineers. You mention "trying" for management. If you haven't previously managed people, then you probably won't be able to get a good SDM role directly. Instead, your best path would be to be hired as an SDE, demonstrate strong managerial bones (mentorship, communica…

I should be clear. I’ve been in hybrid or management positions for many years now so it’s not a matter of trying out managing, it’s a matter of going in cold.
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