Not Just Any Old Geek
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Not Just Any Old Geek
1–10 of 305 posts
Re: Not Just Any Old Geek
#2Interesting idea whose time perhaps has come. As a 38 year old developer who frequents HN and sees age related posts every once in a while, I am worried about my prospects after turning 40... Although I have no other reason to believe that I've been discriminated against over my age so far. Maybe this is a more of a Valley syndrome, or a US syndrome. In anycase, the fact that our industry itself can be thought of being around 40-50 years old now, something like this is perhaps a good thing.
Re: Not Just Any Old Geek
#3I love it. Good luck!
Re: Not Just Any Old Geek
#4I got invited to a YC event - meet companies, they pitched - a recruiting event. More than a few pulled the "we work hard, play hard, are a family" card.
If you have friends/family, avoid such.
Cultural fit is bull shit. It's about getting people to work more at a fixed rate. I've been there, done that, ran away to better things.
As someone expected to write code - make sure "operations" isn't a hidden requirement - devops - could meaning call duty. If you were not required to be operational when hired, and suddenly fall into the roll, start looking around. Operations takes planning, but some use "culture" as an excuse for lack of planning.
Re: Not Just Any Old Geek
#5It seems to me that, as others have suggested, this might be just a silicon valley bias, real or perceived.
At 32, my skills in both hard and soft outstrip anything a developer in their early twenties could match, no matter how passionate or innately skilled they are. There is a certain 'momentum' you pick up as you get older, especially if you have been constantly feeding it with new experiences, learnings and failures. Having confidence and the skill to back it up can only be obtained with a decade or two in the industry.
And if my contracting rates and employment prospects are anything to go by, employers recognise that.
Re: Not Just Any Old Geek
#6I will be 63 in a few days. If 37+ makes you an old geek I must be ancient. At least I am employed.
Re: Not Just Any Old Geek
#7> I’ve published a dozen articles ... build software with thousands of paying customers. ... work on open source Python. ... read almost 40 business books, and I live and breathe HackerNews.
Why not start your own business or become CTO? Why work for someone less experienced?
Re: Not Just Any Old Geek
#8If Jaromir Jagr, at 44 years of age, can play at the highest level of professional hockey in the world, leading his young team in points (and 2nd in goals) last season [1] just imagine what a programmer can do with the same level of focus and determination at that age and beyond.
[1] https://www.nhl.com/panthers/stats/regular-season/skaters/p
Re: Not Just Any Old Geek
#9If Jaromir Jagr, at 44 years of age, can play at the highest level of professional hockey in the world, leading his young team in points (and 2nd in goals) last season [1] just imagine what a programmer can do with the same level of focus and determination at that age and beyond. [1] https://www.nhl.com/panthers/stats/regular-season/skaters/p
Chris Terril completed Royal Marine Commando training at 55!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Terrill
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmlHxIqVoxE
NB He did this so that he would feel fit enough to accompany them as a reporter to Afghanistan - I think the normal upper age limit is 27.
Re: Not Just Any Old Geek
#10Great idea but I'm not sure it's a good idea to post non-green jobs at all.