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Ask HN: Developers aged 50, how have you gotten around age discrimination?

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Re: Ask HN: Developers aged 50, how have you gotten around age discrimination?

#11

Post by zepolen »

decebalus1 wrote: post #8
zepolen wrote: post #3

Value. Are you valuable. You can be 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 it doesn't matter. If you are valuable, you will find a job no problem. The 50 year olds who complain are the ones that offer no value and have essentially 1 year of experience doing the same thing (badly) for 30 years.

I'm pretty sure you don't understand how ageism works. Or racism, sexism or any other 'ism for that matter. Because based on your logic, these problems don't exist anymore in the job marketplace.

"Bitter old grumpy hard hat hacker, seizing the means of production services."

Straight from your profile.

You fit the complaining valueless old man profile completely. Thanks for confirming.

Re: Ask HN: Developers aged 50, how have you gotten around age discrimination?

#12

Post by AnimalMuppet »

zepolen wrote: post #3

Value. Are you valuable. You can be 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 it doesn't matter. If you are valuable, you will find a job no problem. The 50 year olds who complain are the ones that offer no value and have essentially 1 year of experience doing the same thing (badly) for 30 years.

Precisely. I'm more valuable than someone with 10 years of experience. I produce working code faster (even if I don't work as many hours). I produce better designs. I produce fewer bugs. I'm worth more.

If you are trying to hire me, and you want to pay me like I have 10 years of experience rather than like I have 30, you just selected yourself out as a candidate for my services.

I will disagree with the parent on one thing: It can take a while to find a new job - months instead of weeks. The market for people like me is kind of thin. On the other hand, the supply is thin, too. If you need someone like me, you don't just want to hire two 3-to-5-years people to try to replace me.

And to answer part of the original question: I'm in embedded systems. I don't know if my answers work in web programming.

Re: Ask HN: Developers aged 50, how have you gotten around age discrimination?

#13

Post by crimsonalucard »

zepolen wrote: post #3

Value. Are you valuable. You can be 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 it doesn't matter. If you are valuable, you will find a job no problem. The 50 year olds who complain are the ones that offer no value and have essentially 1 year of experience doing the same thing (badly) for 30 years.

Although what you say is mean. It is somewhat true. A lot of older people stay at one company because of stability. When it comes time to switch, because they've spent their 40s in one company, they haven't gained new skills and they get bad at interviewing.

Essentially what happens is you have a senior title but your skills have languished to the point where you are essentially a junior with expert knowledge about something that's obsolete. That and your mind deteriorates somewhat when you are older if you don't keep exercising it.

I think the fix is to bounce around to many companies, constantly even in your 40s as if you were in your 20s. You lose the stability but you maintain a fresh skillset.

Young people take note! I know many successful older SW engineers and they all have done this.

The other option is to get into management.

Re: Ask HN: Developers aged 50, how have you gotten around age discrimination?

#14

Post by LarsHackerNews »

I'm almost 66. Still working on active fun projects, and love what I do. Tips?

1. Be of value. 2. Always learn new things. 3. Seek opportunities in the code base (there are wins in there) 4. Keep learning. A repeat (see #2), and important. 5. Embrace new.

We work in an adapt or die industry; keep that in mind. And, if a shop discriminates about age, find a better shop.

Re: Ask HN: Developers aged 50, how have you gotten around age discrimination?

#15

Post by fredgrott »

okay I am in this now...

My funnel is targeted for specific startup cofounders having trouble finding expert android devs...expert in the sense that they as either the tech cofounder or the creative cofounder already know that their android app should be on kotlin and using redux not MVI or MVVM.

Basically building the demo apps show them and start the discussion.

Re: Ask HN: Developers aged 50, how have you gotten around age discrimination?

#16

Post by x0hm »

zepolen wrote: post #11
decebalus1 wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm pretty sure you don't understand how ageism works. Or racism, sexism or any other 'ism for that matter. Because based on your logic, these problems don't exist anymore in the job marketplace.

"Bitter old grumpy hard hat hacker, seizing the means of production services." Straight from your profile. You fit the complaining valueless old man profile completely. Thanks for confirming.

You're talking out your ass.

Come back once you get out of your internship, cub.

Re: Ask HN: Developers aged 50, how have you gotten around age discrimination?

#17

Post by sigfubar »

uptownfunk wrote: post #4

There is a technology called hair coloring, stack it with a hoodie and some well fitted slacks, roll up one of the ankle cuffs a bit. Talk like you've exited a startup and are just working for fun, or something to keep you interested, but not like you actually have to.

Solid advice regardless of decade.

Re: Ask HN: Developers aged 50, how have you gotten around age discrimination?

#19

Post by zepolen »

module0000 wrote: post #10
zepolen wrote: post #3

Value. Are you valuable. You can be 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 it doesn't matter. If you are valuable, you will find a job no problem. The 50 year olds who complain are the ones that offer no value and have essentially 1 year of experience doing the same thing (badly) for 30 years.

>> The 50 year olds who complain are the ones that offer no value So by your logic, anyone who is 50 or older - that complains - has no value? Real robust rating system you have there kiddo!

Reread the comment. You can be any age and provide value. You can be any age and NOT provide value.

Re: Ask HN: Developers aged 50, how have you gotten around age discrimination?

#20

Post by buserror »

I'm 49! I've been working since I'm 17 as a developer -- I think the KEY thing is to be valuable, and be able to change quickly BUT not as quickly as the snowflakes.

Ignore the fad tech, get a good, serious, bulletproof base in actual computer science -- I mean, LOW LEVEL stuff--, that will help you learn ANYTHING computer related quickly, and continue surfing that wave with whatever tech you fancy might actually be useful to make you sellable in the future...

And don't hesitate to drop stuff you invested a lot in. If it's no longer trendy/selling, just drop it like an old sock and spend time updating yourself. I'm a frigging EXPERT in dozens of stuff that would make people smile now (those who are old enough ;-))

And, if you're that old, you should be GOOD. Not just nerdy and opinionated, you should be able to demonstrate being curious, capacity to change, to work with younger guys as a 1:1 basis -- and use that tons of experience of yours in new fields.

I'm lucky, I manage to 'channel' that stuff because I'm probably still more passionate about my job most people will ever be, despite the pile of years, but I've never been 'age discriminated' before. Apart from when I was 18 and winging it a bit ;-)

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