A lot of older programmers seem to think they have 20 years of experience, when they only have the same year of experience 20 times.
If you don't keep up to date and current, it's not ageism.
You’re How Old? We’ll Be in Touch
91–100 of 265 posts
Re: You’re How Old? We’ll Be in Touch
#92Lots of folks commenting here on there not being many older developers around. Well considering there are at least 10x more developers now than there were 30 years ago, and people generally get into it when they're young, this is completely expected.
Re: You’re How Old? We’ll Be in Touch
#93I'm thankful to work in for the federal govt. where mid 30s to 60s is the age range. Also, the pay for fed govt work is comparably to what engineers in Silicon Valley make, but the cost of living is way lower in this Mid-Atlantic city/area. Though if your single and like to mingle with co-workers and make friends your not going to find that working for the fed; most are married and or recently arrived in the US.
It's good that you're satisfied, but saying that the federal government is comparable to what engineers make in Silicon Valley tells me you don't actually know what engineers make in Silicon Valley.
I suspect there are some segments that pay pretty well once pensions are accounted for.
Re: You’re How Old? We’ll Be in Touch
#94Recently I got an email about a job that seemed interesting. It's a well known company that used to be a startup but is now a mature company. I went to the job description page: 8+ years experience, tech stack I'm familiar with, mostly backend work, seems ok so far. Then I get to the last line. Open office, has video games, happy hours, other typical things designed to attract those in their 20s. It's all a hidden me…
I am sorry, but what is wrong with having video games in the office? At both my previous companies I played games time to time, with co-workers. 15 mins of playing Fifa with a co-worker end s up both relaxing, and productive as you both bond and hash out things, and often much better than boring meeting. I am 35 btw. Also, our CEO regularly played as well. I have been at an office/environment (Amazon), with cubicles,…
The problem isn't the games, it's the office space. Having video games, foosball, table tennis, etc near your work space is distracting as hell. If they are optional and silent (from my perspective) it's not a problem but me experience has been the opposite.
I had management buy everyone nerf guns once as part of a "hitting our targets" marketing campaign. It seemed like every time you got deep into concentration a nerf dart would ricochet into your screen. Needless to say, we missed our targets.
Re: You’re How Old? We’ll Be in Touch
#95I don't see many old sysadmins in companies I've worked in. Even fewer older developers, I have a slight worry that this career path has an affinity for youth- which I won't have for much longer. So this is disheartening to read.
People working in tech also tend to retire early or start doing their own thing due to their salary.
This is one of the subtle underlying justifications for ageism in tech: it's the assumption that if you were any good in your youth, you'd already made your fortune before 40, so anyone over 40 still working in tech must suck, right?
Not everyone wins the lottery, but the rest of us still have to pay bills. And no, just because we didn't exit on a unicorn in our 20s doesn't mean we suck!
Re: You’re How Old? We’ll Be in Touch
#96Disclaimer: The following are existential questions that do not reflect my own beliefs in any way, shape, or form. Why do older people deserve jobs? Why does anyone deserve a job? Are there instances where we as a society accept people NOT deserving a job? How different is age as an attribute compared to: Felons, the mentally impaired, the under-qualified, those lacking physical attributes?
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Re: You’re How Old? We’ll Be in Touch
#97Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's not the video games themselves. It's the culture. It's a way to keep young employees in the office longer. It's not uncommon for these places to have people roll in around 10am and stay until 10pm. That's not a place I want to work at, and I'm not even 30 yet. But you can bet your life savings on a company firing anyone for not playing this game. That's why I won't work for a place with videogames.
That's complete bullshit, I work for one of those company that happens to have video games around. Not everyone play, but after work, we sometimes get around and play for a couple of hours and we just have so much fun that we end up going home late. What's wrong with that?
Nothing wrong with it at all.
But realize that companies do not give you these 'perks' like free food, games, laundry, etc. as a bonus. It is to keep you at work for more and more hours.
Honestly, I don't think it is a bad thing if you do enjoy this sort of thing and are young without kids, wife, etc.
The problem is that it creates the 'bro' culture that turns off anyone who isn't in the same demographic. When most of the team is staying late, bonding with COD, those that don't - the 40 year old who needs to pick up his kid, or the 25 year old woman who doesn't play XBox - tend to be excluded as time goes on.
To be completely honest, I've always thought the complaints of sexism in tech were completely bullshit.
But when I look at things as a mid 30's guy who is already seeing hints of ageism and really have no desire to stay 'till 10pm playing video games, I have to wonder if maybe I was somewhat wrong, and maybe the typical SV software environment is somewhat toxic for anyone not a 25 year old guy - females included.
Re: You’re How Old? We’ll Be in Touch
#98I don't see many old sysadmins in companies I've worked in. Even fewer older developers, I have a slight worry that this career path has an affinity for youth- which I won't have for much longer. So this is disheartening to read.
Tech fields have an inherent disuse for seniority. Beyond five years, no one gives an f how long you have worked with a given toolchain/language. It's the hunger games. Medicine, finance, law, accounting...rightly or wrongly respect decades of experience. Tech is Logan's Run. Plan accordingly.
I realize this is an outlier but you see a fair number of older folks at Google (though they aren't the majority).
Re: You’re How Old? We’ll Be in Touch
#99Earlier quoted context omitted.
I am sorry, but what is wrong with having video games in the office? At both my previous companies I played games time to time, with co-workers. 15 mins of playing Fifa with a co-worker end s up both relaxing, and productive as you both bond and hash out things, and often much better than boring meeting. I am 35 btw. Also, our CEO regularly played as well. I have been at an office/environment (Amazon), with cubicles,…
The problem isn't the games, it's the office space. Having video games, foosball, table tennis, etc near your work space is distracting as hell. If they are optional and silent (from my perspective) it's not a problem but me experience has been the opposite. I had management buy everyone nerf guns once as part of a "hitting our targets" marketing campaign. It seemed like every time you got deep into concentration a n…
> Needless to say, we missed our targets.
... intentional pun?
I've had the nerf war going on around me as well. Everyone else in the office shooting at each other, me in the middle fiddling in my terminals. I learned that if you just don't respond, you don't become a target and you can get on with whatever you were doing (YMMV).
Re: You’re How Old? We’ll Be in Touch
#100Disclaimer: The following are existential questions that do not reflect my own beliefs in any way, shape, or form. Why do older people deserve jobs? Why does anyone deserve a job? Are there instances where we as a society accept people NOT deserving a job? How different is age as an attribute compared to: Felons, the mentally impaired, the under-qualified, those lacking physical attributes?
Your premise is flawed. It's not about deserving a job, it's about equal treatment under the law.
For example, you don't have to have a quota of certain demographic makeup legally, you just cannot have dismissed a candidate predominantly for the purposes of age or race.