I Joined Airbnb at 52, Here’s What I Learned About Age, Wisdom, and Tech Industry
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Re: I Joined Airbnb at 52, Here’s What I Learned About Age, Wisdom, and Tech Industry
#2I think this is great advice regardless of your age:
> I asked a lot of "why" and "what if" questions, forsaking the "what" and "how" questions on which most senior leaders focus
Re: I Joined Airbnb at 52, Here’s What I Learned About Age, Wisdom, and Tech Industry
#3It's interesting to see this sort of perspective. I would like to see more of it.
I'm not 52, but I'm in my late 30s and as an engineer who works at startups, I find myself unable/uninterested in doing the things I did in the past. For example, I find myself having to work smarter rather than just putting in more hours than everyone else (which is what I did in my 20s).
It's also important to bring my perspective from 15+ years in the industry while at the same time coming into each job with a fresh set of eyes (he touches on this in the article). Just because I've seen a lot doesn't mean that there isn't still a lot to learn.
Re: I Joined Airbnb at 52, Here’s What I Learned About Age, Wisdom, and Tech Industry
#4I think this is great advice regardless of your age: > I asked a lot of "why" and "what if" questions, forsaking the "what" and "how" questions on which most senior leaders focus
I've struggled with helping people out of this rut.
On the tech side, people come to me with solutions they want to see live, and spend 10x the time there than describing the root problem.
Equally important is asking "why not" to alternative scenarios, as it fleshed out the scope of the root problem, often vetting the initial solution or finding a better one.
Re: I Joined Airbnb at 52, Here’s What I Learned About Age, Wisdom, and Tech Industry
#5It's interesting to see this sort of perspective. I would like to see more of it. I'm not 52, but I'm in my late 30s and as an engineer who works at startups, I find myself unable/uninterested in doing the things I did in the past. For example, I find myself having to work smarter rather than just putting in more hours than everyone else (which is what I did in my 20s). It's also important to bring my perspective fro…
I'm in your same age bucket, and when I hear comments like "work smarter rather than just putting in more hours", I wonder if that's not just rationalization for simply not wanting to work longer hours because people in that age group generally have other life obligations, and eventually become overpaid and uncompetitive status.
You can't always work smarter day in day out, and expect to beat someone who is both smarter and willing to put in more hours.
Re: I Joined Airbnb at 52, Here’s What I Learned About Age, Wisdom, and Tech Industry
#6It's interesting to see this sort of perspective. I would like to see more of it. I'm not 52, but I'm in my late 30s and as an engineer who works at startups, I find myself unable/uninterested in doing the things I did in the past. For example, I find myself having to work smarter rather than just putting in more hours than everyone else (which is what I did in my 20s). It's also important to bring my perspective fro…
I'm in your same age bucket, and when I hear comments like "work smarter rather than just putting in more hours", I wonder if that's not just rationalization for simply not wanting to work longer hours because people in that age group generally have other life obligations, and eventually become overpaid and uncompetitive status. You can't always work smarter day in day out, and expect to beat someone who is both smar…
I know very few people who actually put in lots of hours and who do productive work. It's just that at first, you have to put in more time to find what you're good at. In many non-US cultures, overwork is a symptom of bad time management and incompetence.
Re: I Joined Airbnb at 52, Here’s What I Learned About Age, Wisdom, and Tech Industry
#7It's interesting to see this sort of perspective. I would like to see more of it. I'm not 52, but I'm in my late 30s and as an engineer who works at startups, I find myself unable/uninterested in doing the things I did in the past. For example, I find myself having to work smarter rather than just putting in more hours than everyone else (which is what I did in my 20s). It's also important to bring my perspective fro…
I'm in your same age bucket, and when I hear comments like "work smarter rather than just putting in more hours", I wonder if that's not just rationalization for simply not wanting to work longer hours because people in that age group generally have other life obligations, and eventually become overpaid and uncompetitive status. You can't always work smarter day in day out, and expect to beat someone who is both smar…
> when I hear comments like "work smarter rather than just
> putting in more hours", I wonder if that's not just
> rationalization for simply not wanting to work longer hours
> because people in that age group generally have other life
> obligations, and eventually become overpaid and
> uncompetitive status.
Working smarter generally means planning before writing code, thinking about how one's work will integrate into the larger system and how to make that code reliable, maintainable, and extensible.
It also means picking your battles and directing effort where it will count.
With experience coders learn that endlessly coding generates errors and shortsightedness. Sure, there is a small percentage of coders who can code error-free for much longer than most, but most coders will be most productive when keeping to a regular 40-hour work week. And even super coders are susceptible to burnout. [1]
[0] http://www.igda.org/?page=crunchsixlessons
[1] http://www.alistapart.com/articles/burnout/
EDIT: format link list.
Re: I Joined Airbnb at 52, Here’s What I Learned About Age, Wisdom, and Tech Industry
#8Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm in your same age bucket, and when I hear comments like "work smarter rather than just putting in more hours", I wonder if that's not just rationalization for simply not wanting to work longer hours because people in that age group generally have other life obligations, and eventually become overpaid and uncompetitive status. You can't always work smarter day in day out, and expect to beat someone who is both smar…
I know very few people who actually put in lots of hours and who do productive work. It's just that at first, you have to put in more time to find what you're good at. In many non-US cultures, overwork is a symptom of bad time management and incompetence.
I agree that putting in more hours consistently toward an active project seldomly turns out well in the long term, but someone that can put in more hours doing side projects using technology/frameworks that they aren't currently using on their job that allows them to stay current/cutting edge that will make them more competitive.
I knew plenty of younger developers who spent nights/weekends doing proofs of concepts they could show at work.
It did make them look better more competitive than other people who just put in the hours.
I spend a lot of time doing side projects just to stay competitive.
Re: I Joined Airbnb at 52, Here’s What I Learned About Age, Wisdom, and Tech Industry
#9Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm in your same age bucket, and when I hear comments like "work smarter rather than just putting in more hours", I wonder if that's not just rationalization for simply not wanting to work longer hours because people in that age group generally have other life obligations, and eventually become overpaid and uncompetitive status. You can't always work smarter day in day out, and expect to beat someone who is both smar…
> when I hear comments like "work smarter rather than just > putting in more hours", I wonder if that's not just > rationalization for simply not wanting to work longer hours > because people in that age group generally have other life > obligations, and eventually become overpaid and > uncompetitive status. When people advise to work smarter than harder, it's often a nod to the fact that longer hours generally produ…
a great old coder I've worked with for many years often says - I might not know the solution - but I know what it isn't - that knowledge/perspective mixed with younger coders who will do some heavy lifting is a very powerful configuration
if you don't understand the benefits having some 40 or 50+ year old devs on a team brings - watch some Jim Weirich videos
Re: I Joined Airbnb at 52, Here’s What I Learned About Age, Wisdom, and Tech Industry
#10I think this is great advice regardless of your age: > I asked a lot of "why" and "what if" questions, forsaking the "what" and "how" questions on which most senior leaders focus
+1. Usually the real answers are hidden behind the "whys", hence why a Five Whys exercise can sometimes be really effective.