Keep your body in shape and 60 will definitely be the new 40.
Is 40 the New 60?
121–130 of 381 posts
Re: Is 40 the New 60?
#122I’m sure many people dungeon grinding the tech industry feel completely used up and ready for retirement or a career change by 40. As I get older I certainly understand the sentiment more each day.
Re: Is 40 the New 60?
#123Earlier quoted context omitted.
Indeed, I keep being a jerk to junior developers that constantly comes to me with the same questions after I explained to them 10000 times and they say "Yeaah, I got it now". It is so hard to avoid being a jerk. What should I do?
Work out what you're doing to make people prefer to lie to you and tell you they've understood when they clearly haven't? If you're having the same communication problem with multiple people, then I'm afraid that's you not them.
Unfortunately, it is not only me that has these problems. But I agree that I am not the best teacher in the world. However, I do believe that they are not trying very much and keep calling me or stopping the team with meetings for small problems. I get it when you are new to the company, but for god's sakes when you have 2 years+ and you still keep asking trivial questions, there is some other problem here.
Re: Is 40 the New 60?
#124Earlier quoted context omitted.
>>> I've learned to be less of a jerk to people and how to communicate. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh.............. But that bit is so hard ! :-)
Indeed, I keep being a jerk to junior developers that constantly comes to me with the same questions after I explained to them 10000 times and they say "Yeaah, I got it now". It is so hard to avoid being a jerk. What should I do?
Stop giving them the full answer and only lead them part way there. They will then (hopefully) learn how to look up documentation for themselves. Essentially "teach a man to fish". They don't necessarily want to know the answer, but they want to know how you know the answer.
Re: Is 40 the New 60?
#12540 is not the new 60. Not even close. At 40, I've done some of the best work I've ever done and my pay has been better than ever. I'm 52 now and the trend has only gotten better. Why? Its because at 40, I had a much deeper understanding of the tech, I understood of the whole business process and I had the maturity to deal with people in a productive way. You won't find all of those in a 25 year old developer. The onl…
I’m 45 and have never gotten more attention from recruiters, despite the fact I entered the job market during the height of the dot com era. My graduation date is clearly marked on all resumes in circulation, as is my experience showing my first internship all the way back in ‘96. It’s not only the number of ops that hit my plate, but the sheer aggressiveness of the recruiters. Very often am I contacted repeatedly, s…
The key here is Principal. 40 plus is considered fine and good for Architects/Managers and people in leadership positions. Try to get a senior engineer or below job where you are expected to be grinding out code instead.
Re: Is 40 the New 60?
#126Earlier quoted context omitted.
>At 40, I've done some of the best work I've ever done [...] Its because at 40, I had a much deeper understanding of the tech, The blog post isn't about self-reported cognitive ability getting stronger (or not declining). It's about the job marketplace . Maybe it's instructive to compare/contrast different professional careers that depend on mental abilities and how age affects marketability: - computer programming :…
> Why is experience valued for outside hires of CEOs but not as much for programmers? In other words, a 55-year old programmer would have 35 more years of experience than a 20-year old but that "extra 35 years of programming" doesn't seem to be valued as much as the "extra 35 years of managing" that a 55-year CEO candidate has. Why? I'll bite – I think it is because instead of licensing and regulating our profession…
hmm there are a lot of old brands and designs out there in clothing, and I dont think I have ever owned anything from a "hot new" fashion brand
My clothes are either no name, or old old companies like Carhartt, levis, Wrangler, Dickies, etc...
Re: Is 40 the New 60?
#12740 is not the new 60. Not even close. At 40, I've done some of the best work I've ever done and my pay has been better than ever. I'm 52 now and the trend has only gotten better. Why? Its because at 40, I had a much deeper understanding of the tech, I understood of the whole business process and I had the maturity to deal with people in a productive way. You won't find all of those in a 25 year old developer. The onl…
>At 40, I've done some of the best work I've ever done [...] Its because at 40, I had a much deeper understanding of the tech, The blog post isn't about self-reported cognitive ability getting stronger (or not declining). It's about the job marketplace . Maybe it's instructive to compare/contrast different professional careers that depend on mental abilities and how age affects marketability: - computer programming :…
I agree with your sentiment. I was 51 when I last applied for a job at a new company. Initially I was getting very little interest in my resume. Then I cut out the first 10 years of my career from my resume (and LinkedIn), and downgraded the oldest position listed from a Senior Lead to just a developer -- essentially making me appear 40 instead of 50. Within a couple of weeks I started getting responses.
And it is not like my work from 1990-2000 wasn't valuable. I worked on a complex large scale analytics system in the early 90's and migrated to large scale web-based applications in the later half of the decade. I'm proud of that work and have some interesting lessons and stories from that time period, but they are telltale of my age and were working against me.
Re: Is 40 the New 60?
#128Earlier quoted context omitted.
Indeed, I keep being a jerk to junior developers that constantly comes to me with the same questions after I explained to them 10000 times and they say "Yeaah, I got it now". It is so hard to avoid being a jerk. What should I do?
Get a stress ball. Practise screaming inside your head. Works for me.
I need a punch bag
Re: Is 40 the New 60?
#129I can relate. When I lived in the Bay area, I started getting nervous in my late 30s that it would become harder and harder to find my next job in software development. I've since discovered that this seems to be a regional thing. I have not had trouble finding remote work in other parts of the US. Now that I'm 45, I still don't worry too much, because I'm seeing businesses with a good mix of people, including a lot of people in my age group.
Re: Is 40 the New 60?
#13040 is not the new 60. Not even close. At 40, I've done some of the best work I've ever done and my pay has been better than ever. I'm 52 now and the trend has only gotten better. Why? Its because at 40, I had a much deeper understanding of the tech, I understood of the whole business process and I had the maturity to deal with people in a productive way. You won't find all of those in a 25 year old developer. The onl…
>At 40, I've done some of the best work I've ever done [...] Its because at 40, I had a much deeper understanding of the tech, The blog post isn't about self-reported cognitive ability getting stronger (or not declining). It's about the job marketplace . Maybe it's instructive to compare/contrast different professional careers that depend on mental abilities and how age affects marketability: - computer programming :…
"corporate executive manager" is a tech role.
"surgeon" is limited by the AMA cartel's supply controls, and requires 10 years more training than a programmer, so subtract 10 from effective age in job.
Experience is valued for leaders (managers), which OP refuses to do. Experience is valued for careers where the work is the same year after year, which programming is not. So much of a 40year olds knowledge is useless because fashions have changed. Wisdom is useful in managers, but individual contributors need continually upating deep detailed knowledge and constant analysis and Nobel problem solving, which favors the youngish. It's more like chess than medicine or law.
OP also gives hints that he has a bad attitude that may shine through in his interviewing and networking. He also didn't give any hint as to how many jobs he applied for and where.