41–50 of 203 posts
Ageism is out in SV, because the biggest perpetrators grew up. Plus experience is worth a lot of money. If you're young or old, don't listen to those who say you can't do something. It's just one more form of resistance that successful people have to plow through.
Same age, I recently interviewed at two FAANG companies. Mostly algorithms and system design interviews. I thought I did pretty well (something like 3 very good interviews, 1 good, and 1 ok). In both cases, the conclusion was that my results were good enough for an L4 position, but they wouldn't hire me for less than L5. (Why not, I'd be happy as an L4...). Also, I found the interview process pretty random and arbitr…
If you're 43, you should know what you want to do. If you want to code, go for a senior/principal programming lead position. If you want to manage, go for a managerial position. You're asking a question a 20 yr old should be asking which makes me extremely worried what the future has in store for me. I hope that when I turn 40 in 2029, I could still do what I love (which happens to be in programming), and not have to fret if I need to change professions or not...this is the way.
*Edit, I hope I don't sound like a jerk, but this is really what I feel. I hope when millennials like me start to hit 40, we can change the tech industry's age distribution and we no longer have to worry about problems like this.
Anybody in their 40s or older has valuable experience above and beyond ephemeral value of “Hitting the ground running with Cabbage and Sprouts containerized with Cuper9s using ES2020 and JSxyz.” One way to deliver that experience is in delivery management, that is, being responsible for teams that ship stuff. Another way to deliver that experience is in people management. Not all companies equate this with the previo…
That's great, and resonates
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think the unspoken question is whether it is more prudent for a person of this age to pursue an individual contributor role or a role in the management track. Take this for what it's worth, but anecdotally I've heard a lot of programmers find that once they hit this age, opportunities as an individual contributor are more limited. So if the goal is to get a stable job at a large tech company, then the question is w…
I am a great people manager, but it's subject to the monkey in the middle problem, which I find stressful.
Ageism is out in SV, because the biggest perpetrators grew up. Plus experience is worth a lot of money. If you're young or old, don't listen to those who say you can't do something. It's just one more form of resistance that successful people have to plow through.
Tech companies really care about your tech skills (assuming that you do not want to go to the manage route), so age should not be an issue. However, skills might be an issue. I.e. if you spent your career in companies that use tech, you might not have deep specialization.
Companies that use tech, are easier, which tends to bring less experienced developers, which usually are younger and might create ageism.
I hate these questions because it honestly puts me off when I think about my future. It makes me scared of being old. 43 isn't even that old (isn't retiring age 65...?) and you seem to be confused what your profession is. I don't want to be in that position. If you're 43, you should know what you want to do. If you want to code, go for a senior/principal programming lead position. If you want to manage, go for a mana…
I'm reminded of this quote by Baz Luhrmann:
> The most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don’t.
Incidentally, I'm in the same boat as the OP. I've done coding, I've done the management gig, not sure what life has for me in store in the next 5-10 years.
I'm a Sr Manager at a FAANG company (and I started here in my 40s). My direct reports include other SDMs, senior product managers, and staff/principal engineers. You mention "trying" for management. If you haven't previously managed people, then you probably won't be able to get a good SDM role directly. Instead, your best path would be to be hired as an SDE, demonstrate strong managerial bones (mentorship, communica…
> You mention "trying" for management. If you haven't previously managed people, then you probably won't be able to get a good SDM role directly. This is very true. No company I’ve interviewed with so far was willing to hire a manager who hasn’t previously managed people. > Instead, your best path would be to be hired as an SDE, demonstrate strong managerial bones I’ve tried this strategy a number of times and I wish…
I'm currently at a FAANG and it is that straightforward. You don't just say, "hey, I should have people under me" but you do say that you're interested in managing folks some day. The company even offers a specific development track and training for people that want to do that.
That's also how I got into management at a non-FAANG company. I was hired as an IC, but indicated that my desire was to be a manager. I eventually became a VP.
Obviously every place is different, but you do need to make your desires known.
Same age, I recently interviewed at two FAANG companies. Mostly algorithms and system design interviews. I thought I did pretty well (something like 3 very good interviews, 1 good, and 1 ok). In both cases, the conclusion was that my results were good enough for an L4 position, but they wouldn't hire me for less than L5. (Why not, I'd be happy as an L4...). Also, I found the interview process pretty random and arbitr…
https://leetcode.com/discuss/interview-experience/360829/ama...