Ask HN: Over 60 = no engineering jobs? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Over 60 = no engineering jobs?

#21

Post by CodeWriter23 » Wed, Oct 17, 2018, 4:24 PM UTC

d4n0ct wrote: post #3

Not in HR myself, but maybe they are looking for candidates that would stay with the company for a longer time. It may also be easier to persuade/manage younger minds or groom them for leadership positions. Why are you job hopping, if you don't mind me asking?

Could you feasibly retire now? I’m not suggesting you should; rather that it might be something to fold in to your cover letter or resume, that you are seeking work because you want to even though you don’t have to. Some may be thinking you’re biding your time until your 65th birthday.

Re: Ask HN: Over 60 = no engineering jobs?

#22

Post by docker_up » Wed, Oct 17, 2018, 4:25 PM UTC

Anything more than 10 years old on your resume is worthless. Yes, you may have 3 STEM undergrad degrees, but no one cares because it's not relevant anymore.

What modern technologies have you recently worked with? What does your resume show, 20 years at the same company, or do you have experience at well-known, "prestigous" companies like FANG? Are you pigeon-holed into a specific area, or are you a generic, back-end or front-end expert that has worked in relevant and useful technologies for 2018?

Also, with 35 years of experience in Silicon Valley, don't you have a network of former coworkers that you can contact for references or jobs?

I'm 50 years old, and I've had no problems getting jobs and recruiters from FANG won't stop contacting me even now. Sure, things might change over the next few years, but I also have a rolodex (old man's terminology) of former coworkers that I routinely have lunch with still and can ask for jobs, etc. I'm sure things will change, but I'm also doing my best to ensure that I can retire in the next 10 years as well.

Re: Ask HN: Over 60 = no engineering jobs?

#23

Post by sathomasga » Wed, Oct 17, 2018, 4:25 PM UTC

echelon wrote: post #9

I'm in Atlanta, and I work for a SF-based tech company. Most of my coworkers are in their 40's and 50's, and a few are 60. In Atlanta nobody cares about age or background. We also have way more diversity by almost every measure - when I fly out to SF, people look and act the same way. I don't bat an eye when I interview someone older than me. I expect that I'll probably learn a thing or two. Message me. If you've got…

In Atlanta as well and, at 56-years-old, happily working remotely for a SF-based company. Somehow I feel that remote work places less emphasis on age. (Also, working remotely effectively is possibly something that takes experience, as, e.g. there are less opportunities to get mentored, etc.) Perhaps OP can focus more on remote work.

Re: Ask HN: Over 60 = no engineering jobs?

#24

Post by anovikov » Wed, Oct 17, 2018, 4:26 PM UTC

Do some high-value per hour consulting and forget of full time jobs, they aren't for guys with your level of experience, who could leverage your skills and pay you appropriate money without putting off other employees? Do consulting and charge $300 per hour.

Re: Ask HN: Over 60 = no engineering jobs?

#25

Post by rrggrr » Wed, Oct 17, 2018, 4:27 PM UTC

Late 40's and above... the reality isn't pretty in tech. I'm pretty sure I've missed out on two positions because age. On the one hand, we need to protected classes to prevent discrimination. On the other hand, bad faith discrimination claims have made older hires high risk. On balance... I am wondering if these laws are doing more harm than good.

Re: Ask HN: Over 60 = no engineering jobs?

#26

Post by uptown » Wed, Oct 17, 2018, 4:27 PM UTC

Is there any possibility you can use the connections you've made over your career to get past the initial screening? At all stages in my career, I've found that personal references do more than almost anything else when trying to get hired. Consider sending an email out to people you used to work with if you can find a way to reach them. There's a good chance many of them have moved to new companies, and a possibility some of those companies may have openings that a former colleague could recommend you as suitable to fill.

Re: Ask HN: Over 60 = no engineering jobs?

#27

Post by rpoconn1 » Wed, Oct 17, 2018, 4:27 PM UTC

If you are applying at startups it may just come down to money, and the fact that startups are a ton of 20 somethings trying to get that sweet IPO / acquisition release.

How does your Linkedin profile look, in terms of libraries? Many recruiters / managers look at libs / tech FIRST, which is kinda backwards. Do you have the latest tensorflow or [insert cool new thing] on the resume?

If your resume is really what you posted - any outside recruiter can help you getting interviews. They may give you lackluster opportunities at first, but that's part of the process (think of it like dating, but for jobs).

Re: Ask HN: Over 60 = no engineering jobs?

#28

Post by wetpaws » Wed, Oct 17, 2018, 4:27 PM UTC

d4n0ct wrote: post #3

Not in HR myself, but maybe they are looking for candidates that would stay with the company for a longer time. It may also be easier to persuade/manage younger minds or groom them for leadership positions. Why are you job hopping, if you don't mind me asking?

I am sorry, but in this industry anything more then 3 years in not a job hopping, but a norm.

Re: Ask HN: Over 60 = no engineering jobs?

#29

Post by honkycat » Wed, Oct 17, 2018, 4:27 PM UTC

I feel like Google / Amazon / IBM / any of the larger companies would love to have you on board. Maybe look bigger instead of going for start-ups which are often run by children.

Anymore people like hiring young inexperienced devs they can abuse and pay poorly. And then they wonder why we have to take months and months to pay off technical debt...

Hiring managers and inexperienced management think anybody can learn to code so they just hire who they think is cool. It's a bad trend. So tired of working with people who are fresh out of code bootcamp and are basically useless.

I've posted about this before so I'll repeat myself:

> More than anything have learned that education and training are hugely important and hiring to train leads to mediocre staff who think their two years of development work stack up to your 4 years of college and 6 years of professional experience.

> They take forever to start writing productive code, if they ever bother leaning at all.

> I will never hire someone without a degree or equivalent experience again. Even for Jr. roles

Re: Ask HN: Over 60 = no engineering jobs?

#30

Post by poulsbohemian » Wed, Oct 17, 2018, 4:28 PM UTC

joewee wrote: post #17

Speaking from experience you need two resumes (I’m much younger, but with a long career). One that’s management focused and one that’s developer focused. Use the appropriate resume for the role you are applying for. Even though I’m a hands on engineer people didn’t want to consider me for roles because I had management experience and they thought the engineering role would be too boring, and vice versa. Reduce your r…

So if you've been in and out of management and technical roles (like myself), how do you make those gaps between two resumes not look like gaps? Or, do you simply address it in interviews when asked?