Ask HN: Is age an issue?

Yes, age is an issue but only at some organizations and you are probably better off staying away.

A couple of observations on interviews focussed on api's -

I do not have a problem with being asked a question on specific api if I have listed it in my skill sets. I would not expect to answer an api question on struts FrontRequestProcessor just because I have MVC listed on my resume.

Usually when I have been asked such questions, it has been when interviewing with junior to mid level programmers, all of them significantly 'younger' than me.

The older folks have all transitioned into managerial function, some of them know the engineering terms obtained from reading technical publications but have not written code in a while.

Organizations with an emphasis on such questions tend to more often than not lack an "engineering culture". Emphasis is placed on delivering requirements from a backlog rather then innovating on behalf of customers and I would stay away from them.

Age is an issue, but not at the ones that matter (to me at least)

I think this is a "is it a bug or a feature?" type of conversation. Some folks will see age as a bug, some as a feature.

I'm in my 40s, so I'm closer to you than the younger crowd. I've also had quite a bit of experience hiring folks, and it's never been an issue for me.

I once had a contract with a company where the average age was 24 -- and I was 32. During the interview they asked "so do you think age will be an issue?" to which I replied "Why should it? I love working with people of all ages."

I think as you get older you realize that good programming is in knowledge of general heuristics and systems, not api calls. But when you're young, everything new and shiny must be mastered to the fullest extent.

Be aware of this. Always be learning "just enough" of what is new and flashy in order to be able to develop with it (or look it up and develop with it) quickly if need be." If you stop learning at the deeper-than-superficial-but-not-guru level, it's not going to work.

Having said all of that, I think age, as long as you are self-motivated, is a feature and not a bug. If your head is still in the game, you're going to bring a lot to the table in terms of tacit knowledge. Having somebody who has been-there, done-that can be a great boon to a team working in tough situations.

I'm just a college student that codes, so I don't know much about if age is an issue.

However your backing seems to be because of one specific case. Memorizing ever changing APIs. Just wanted to say I have the exact same thoughts and I'm young. I have been asked this type question. My response is usually well I'm that that familiar with this API since I don't use it, but if I where to do this with Cocoa (something I am more experienced with) I would do etc.

If you're looking for a job as a Java programmer, then I think it's reasonable for the interviewer to expect you to be able to give some sort of answer to "what is your favorite Java class". Being asked the signature of a specific method is pretty bogus, though. If you're getting a lot of questions like that, then you probably don't want the job whether you're 60 or 20.

There's advantages and disadvantages to older coders. The biggest disadvantages are that you have a family and responsibilities, and your health insurance is a lot more expensive.

If you're a great programmer, who's interested in learning new technologies, that's not such a big deal. But honestly, your "when google is one click away" comment is not signaling those qualities.