62 here. Just got hired into principal role at public software company doing Vue & c#. First month has been lots of hands on... Just like I like it.
Is 40 the New 60?
151–160 of 381 posts
Re: Is 40 the New 60?
#152I'm 30s and feel old. The biggest thing is that I don't have the motivation to be fast and work extra hours. I look at the new college grads and remember those days when I didn't have a family and could put in extra hours, believing I had a career.
You are not old, you are just burning out. Pace yourself and pick your battles. It has nothing to do with age. Child prodigies can burn out at 20 because they are suffocated with work.
I'm already told I'm slow at work, so I don't think I can reduce the pace any further.
Re: Is 40 the New 60?
#153Earlier 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 :…
As mentioned elsewhere in the this chat, I'm a 45 yo principal engineer at my current company who has seen nothing but an increase in attention from recruiters since turning 40. I'm also directly involved in hiring for my team, having helped add 15 members over the last year, working directly w/ the director to review all resumes, handling maybe 30% of the screens, and usually the veto vote. We've interviewed a numbe…
I understand the need to fake overwhelming optimism to get by interviewers with mindsets similar to yours. Too much honesty can be bad in this industry, especially at higher levels, where diplomacy and soft skills are very important.
Re: Is 40 the New 60?
#154This is a very American centrist point of view. In Europe everywhere I worked there were a bunch of 40+ year olds writing code, it's just yet another profession. No big deal. I've found even a good amount of people at that age that were career switching(to development) and haven't had big issues entering the job market. But of course, you have to be flexible. Move elsewhere, or where the jobs are. Your white hair doe…
I'm in Brasil and I think it is worse than USA. There are just bad jobs for new hires.
Re: Is 40 the New 60?
#155Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
I think the stack is important. I know a lot of older Java and .Net developers that are hired to grind out code.
Re: Is 40 the New 60?
#156I feel like I have an interesting outlook considering I'm 20. I actually very much enjoy working with older developers who are masters at what they do. As long as they keep learning new technology and don't punish me for using new ideas.
Re: Is 40 the New 60?
#157Earlier quoted context omitted.
> The only way that age becomes a detriment is if you do not grow. There has been research about this as well under the term https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuroplasticity . Might be interesting to look at. My understanding is that you are exactly right. It seems to be common that we tend to stop learning and pushing ourselves, get comfortable or maybe even afraid. To each his own, but I think it is more fun and fruit…
I call it the "grumpy old fart" syndrome. I've (M50+) felt it - the urge to stop learning and complain at everything that changes. It is a struggle to continue learning at this age. But it is worth it. Being a grumpy old fart sucks all the joy out of life.
As I understand the research the "struggle" is more cultural than inherent/biological.
It just so happens that a good chunk of people tend to stop learning and pushing themselves for what ever reason. But if you keep at it, or get back to it, your brain adapts over time and becomes more flexible to to speak.
And by "learning" they mean things that are just slightly outside of your comfort zone.
Anecdotally, people who do that for a very long time, tend to be really smart and interesting I found. It's such a wonderful thing.
Re: Is 40 the New 60?
#158Don't even get me started (just take a shufti through my posting history on this very site. You'll see this is a subject that has my attention) . > while the experience that comes with age is valued in fields like music, it counts against you in tech. Yup. The Jurassic-scale disasters that are becoming increasingly common, these days, are evidence of unsteady hands at the wheel. I'm not saying that older folks are be…
You post this all the time. You did 27 years at one single company, as you point out so proudly and often. After a stint like that, anyone would be unhireable. It isn't your age, as so many others on this chain have pointed out. You didn't build your CV to be attractive to new employers at all , and when eventually that became relevant again, you were out of luck. I read your posts whenever I see them, it's obvious y…
> You did 27 years at one single company, as you point out so proudly and often. After a stint like that, anyone would be unhireable.
Next time you hear someone complain about why programmers jump jobs ever 2 years, point them to this cynical and stereotyping comment.
In my opinion this is no different from saying "What, you didn't graduate from college? Well, obviously you are unhireable", but I bet 'Icathian would be much less likely to say that to a non college-educated programmer looking for work.
For some reason, stereotyping based on tenure, which correlates strongly to age, just seems to fly wild in our industry.
Re: Is 40 the New 60?
#159Earlier quoted context omitted.
As mentioned elsewhere in the this chat, I'm a 45 yo principal engineer at my current company who has seen nothing but an increase in attention from recruiters since turning 40. I'm also directly involved in hiring for my team, having helped add 15 members over the last year, working directly w/ the director to review all resumes, handling maybe 30% of the screens, and usually the veto vote. We've interviewed a numbe…
I understand the need to fake overwhelming optimism to get by interviewers with mindsets similar to yours. Too much honesty can be bad in this industry, especially at higher levels, where diplomacy and soft skills are very important.
I have that optimism and it certainly is not fake. I love what I do. Yes, I bring experience to the table but not bad energy.
WTF would you want to hire someone who poisons the well? It doesn't matter what the job/industry is, in what situation would that be remotely desirable?
Re: Is 40 the New 60?
#160This is a very American centrist point of view. In Europe everywhere I worked there were a bunch of 40+ year olds writing code, it's just yet another profession. No big deal. I've found even a good amount of people at that age that were career switching(to development) and haven't had big issues entering the job market. But of course, you have to be flexible. Move elsewhere, or where the jobs are. Your white hair doe…
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