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Old Geek Jobs: fighting against ageism in the industry

oldgeekjobs.com

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Re: Old Geek Jobs: fighting against ageism in the industry

#261

Post by johnwheeler »

biocomputation wrote: post #238
johnwheeler wrote: post #3

Hi Everybody, I'm the creator of the site the down blog in the OP links to https://oldgeekjobs.com . I developed it as an MVP last night in one hour. The blog looks like it's getting crushed under load, so here's the content of the post: Check out https://oldgeekjobs.com/ if you’re over 30. In the software development industry it’s hard to get hired when you get past 35 and are still “just a developer”. Employers loo…

I'm not sure if you're religious, but God bless you if you are! If you're not, then many thanks for doing this. I've already shared this with at least six friends.

Thank you so much! I'm cranking away on the site right now and have a backlog of jobs I need to input.

Re: Old Geek Jobs: fighting against ageism in the industry

#262

Post by analogwzrd »

noddingham wrote: post #150
JPKab wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a weird situation, because I was working remotely for a tech company and was required to move to the Boulder, CO area recently. It's an awesome company and I was stoked about the area, so I went ahead and did it, but the requirement for collocation that has been driven by certain management ethos' is odd in such a technology driven world. The advantages I've had by moving from Arkansas to here have been numerous…

As someone that also works in Boulder, is your compensation enough to allow you to actually live in Boulder?

I've been working full time in Boulder for the past five years and I could get into the bottom end of the real estate market if I really wanted to - I started working straight out of college with no debt, but no equity either. I've stayed out because I've not felt my career stable enough to jump into that kind of long term investment. My company's been going through some ups and downs and cash in the bank seemed smarter than having it tied up in property. It also came in handy having some "f-you money" considering I just took two months of unpaid leave.

The cheapest house I've seen in Boulder has been around $450K. If you want a condo or town home in Boulder, you're looking at about $270K and that's probably going to be on the out skirts of town and built in the early 90s.

There's also permanently affordable housing. They are subsidized properties that you have to qualify to purchase, but you can't re-sell them for more than you bought them for. I've always made too much money to qualify, even right out of undergrad with a BS.

Re: Old Geek Jobs: fighting against ageism in the industry

#263

Post by stcredzero »

oldmanjay wrote: post #247
stcredzero wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

San Francisco strikes as one of these low-tolerance / high-discrimination places. The rapidity with which people flip the idiot bit on you, due to puddle-shallow signalling in the Bay Area really takes my breath away. - The sound of keys clicking in a phone interview automatically means you are Googling the answer in an interview. Never mind that you are a dynamic language programmer and you are writing a 10 second s…

I'm always amused when I have a polar opposite experience to someone's virulent assertions, which is definitely the case here. Edit: in a further comment, you assert an unspoken insult being communicated in a perfectly neutral sentence. I guess what I'm saying is I bet you bring quite a bit of the negativity you experience to your interactions.

Edit: in a further comment, you assert an unspoken insult being communicated in a perfectly neutral sentence.

It was entirely certain that he did not understand that he repeated the 2nd option I gave him. Furthermore, when I tried to correct him, he behaved as if I was lying to him.

Re: Old Geek Jobs: fighting against ageism in the industry

#264

Post by wott »

nedsma wrote: post #82
sAuronas wrote: post #68

Old (40) geek here. I think I have two pennies-worth to share here. I came to the industry at 38. I left real estate development when I couldn't overcome the unemployment history gap in my resume, despite working for KB Home, Toll Brothers and on the largest redevelopment project in Chicago history (Stateway Gardens housing project to Park Boulevard). I was living in the Bay Area at the time I made the transition (fi…

What a great story. Also, I believe that geek fellows here and HNers shouldn't be concerned about switching jobs, as they're immersed in this industry all over their heads. It's folks who do coding just for living and don't really want to invest in new technologies, or have early stopped trying out new things that might have more issues finding new prospects.

The millionth edition of the "if you keep up with tech you can't have a problem, if you have a problem, that's because you stick with Fortran". It is still not true.

People who share complaints here, on Reddit or on more or less similar places, do indeed keep up in general and always have personal interest in tech. But that isn't a magic bullet. They'd have better chances if they had stuck with COBOL, for example.

Go tell that to a recruiter... most don't care about what you toy with; they generally don't even have the slightest idea of what it may be. They just care about what you've been doing at your previous company, if it sounds like the position they have to fill, if the title of the gigs looks good, if the company name looks good or if at least they've heard its name before, and that's all. You are not given a chance to explain the interests you have and side skills you may have developed, it would be all Greek to them anyway and they do not value non-professional experience. Admittedly, I am not talking about California here.

Re: Old Geek Jobs: fighting against ageism in the industry

#265

Post by milcron »

geebee wrote: post #257
blakeyrat wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The "Bay Area scene" is also pretty bad at figuring out that a lot of their problems only exist in the Bay Area . Although they're doing a heck of a job importing their horrible toxic culture up here to Seattle.

I am curious, though, when you say "they" are importing their horrible toxic culture, who are you referring to? Not individuals necessarily, but are you referring to all San Franciscans, including those who were priced out of their childhood neighborhoods and are looking for somewhere else to live?

Valley CS geeks, of course.

Re: Old Geek Jobs: fighting against ageism in the industry

#266

Post by inestyne »

Building from scratch since the early 80s. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that i've never really looked at my industry as a young man's sport. Young and dumb get chewed up and spit out on the first funding down-turn, which is about to happen again. They go out chasing shiney things, abused by ivy-leagues, and since they never had it to begin with, they don't come back. Seen it more that a few times so i'm not worried a bit.

So if your old and wise and still working congratulations! Maybe look back, if you can remember that far, and realize you've bern employed this entire time doing something you'd do for free if they didn't pay you.

Damm I love my job!

p.s. Remember the golden rule: Wait for critical mass, hijack, then do the same thing you did last time.

:)

Re: Old Geek Jobs: fighting against ageism in the industry

#267

Post by m103forme »

madengr wrote: post #248
noddingham wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As someone that also works in Boulder, is your compensation enough to allow you to actually live in Boulder?

Yeah, inquiring minds would like to know. I'm in Boulder right now for a conference, and looking at Zillow, it's f'ing insane. Prices seem to start at $1M.

Buying inside of Boulder is a bit insane right now, hell most of Colorado is, and it's just amplified by the lack of supply in Boulder (no new building for 20-30 some years I think).

Check out Gunbarrel, it's about 7 minutes away from Boulder and is still somewhat reasonable. Although my SO bought her 30yr old condo for $165K in the Fall of 2014 and Zillow is now saying 302K, LOL.

Re: Old Geek Jobs: fighting against ageism in the industry

#268

Post by nicobn »

daxorid wrote: post #17
tjic wrote: post #2

I think that the "Bay Area scene" is different from much of the world. I think that part of human nature is that people like people who are like themselves, so you sometimes get these insular / discriminatory sub cultures that judge people on superficial traits instead of the quality of their minds. From both this article and the tales of many friends, San Francisco strikes as one of these low-tolerance / high-discri…

Seconded. I operate out of rural Arizona and travel to California (where my business is located) as needed. Thirty second commute, time with my family, and the opportunity to interact with people whose lifestyle concerns actually seem grounded in reality. You couldn't pay me enough to live in a place like SF.

Ditto that. I also live in AZ.

I'm curious; where in rural Arizona are you based off ?

Re: Old Geek Jobs: fighting against ageism in the industry

#269

Post by m103forme »

noddingham wrote: post #150
JPKab wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a weird situation, because I was working remotely for a tech company and was required to move to the Boulder, CO area recently. It's an awesome company and I was stoked about the area, so I went ahead and did it, but the requirement for collocation that has been driven by certain management ethos' is odd in such a technology driven world. The advantages I've had by moving from Arkansas to here have been numerous…

As someone that also works in Boulder, is your compensation enough to allow you to actually live in Boulder?

I recently moved back to the area from NorCal. Initially, 40% of my income was going to rent for a studio on the outskirts of Boulder. It's insane. Now I live with my SO and thankfully that's down to around 15%. I can't even imagine finding a place to buy now.

Re: Old Geek Jobs: fighting against ageism in the industry

#270

Post by sjdchid »

mattdeboard wrote: post #245
sjdchid wrote: post #185

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tell me more about all the places where a home bought in 2000 is worth less now, and all the colleges where tuition was not 50% cheaper in the 90s.

Sure, tuition was cheaper. Doesn't mean it was cheap. And when future you is talking to a 20-year-old, they'll be lambasting you about how easy your life was when a 4-year degree from a public instituion only cost you $80,000. If you're truly ignorant of the subprime mortgage crisis a few years back, you can check out The Big Short (book or movie, but I'm told the book is much better) for good insight into history an…

I'm aware that home prices dropped in 2008. I'm also aware that they settled at a level significantly above the prices of 2000. Check any of the home price indices if you don't believe me.
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