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Santa, I'll be 55YO in a few days. All I want is a better job. Thanks.

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Re: Santa, I'll be 55YO in a few days. All I want is a better job. Thanks.

#11

Post by bsg75 »

rip747 wrote: post #8

That is why i'm working to get all the certifications I can to become a full time DBA (database administrator). For some reason companies want young programmers, but old time database administrators. I guess when it comes to data integrity, experience and being stuck in your ways counts more.

DBAs tend to be a little less to jump on the bleeding edge. Development is (sometimes) about trends, being closer to the marketing, where DBA are the keepers of the gold.

That said, being a DBA is not always a stable life. Depending on the organization (or the lack of it) there can be late night firedrills, off hours maintenance / migrations, calls to fix data wounded by bleeding edges. A good DBA can mitigate these problems, given adequate support by management - IOW given the authority to do so.

Re: Santa, I'll be 55YO in a few days. All I want is a better job. Thanks.

#12

Post by smoyer »

MichaelCrawford wrote: post #2

Me Too. I'll be 51 in a couple months. Age discrimination is widespread in this industry. I get lots of interviews, but quite commonly I find that my interviewer starts finding reasons not to hire me, the very instant they see me in person, and so can see I have grey hair. Discriminating against employees or candidates over 40, for reasons of age, is flatly illegal under US Federal Law, as well as the laws of all the…

I turned 50 last summer and the last time I was looking, I had no problem finding a good job ... perhaps the best job I've ever had. But to survive the interview process, you can't act 50 (or 55 or 51). You need to be current and make it obvious you've kept yourself up-to-date.

To a lesser degree you can't look 50 either - I'm fortunate to have been dirty blond when I was younger and my hair doesn't seem to be greying yet but if it was and I was interviewing, I'd change it. Five hundred pounds and rolled into the interview in an oversized Aeron chair? You probably look older than you are to the interviewers.

I don't think most age discrimination is conscious but even where it is, don't help them out by acting or looking old/older.

Note: Since I have no idea how @MichaelCrawford looks or interviews, this comment is not aimed at him but is rather responding to a pattern I see when we interview people my age.

Re: Santa, I'll be 55YO in a few days. All I want is a better job. Thanks.

#13

Post by smoyer »

mud_dauber wrote: post #9
kasey_junk wrote: post #3

Not to downplay the age discrimination angle (because I believe it is a real problem) but what constitutes a "better" job? Is it a compensation issue, a work/life balance thing, a new technologies thing? Conversely, are you willing to lower your compensation, work/life balance, technology choices, etc. to accomplish that? Hard for Santa to fix these problems without knowing the tradeoffs...

Hi Santa, thanks for asking. It's a lack-of-challenges (read culture) thing. My employer unfortunately tolerates mediocrity & isn't under investor pressure to improve. It drives me crazy, but can't leave until I have a new gig lined up. I live in Austin & work as a product manager, FWIW.

You're in a position where you can improve your own job ... don't tolerate mediocrity in yourself, then don't tolerate it in your work products. There's nothing to say your employer would complain if things improved - in fact, it's likely you'll be able to point to an ROI on those improvements eventually. Most employers WILL notice when the money improves and will want to do more of whatever caused it.

Re: Santa, I'll be 55YO in a few days. All I want is a better job. Thanks.

#14

Post by mathattack »

stblack wrote: post #5

This resonates profoundly. But I'll tell you who I REALLY feel sorry for. I feel sorry for today's 20- and 30-somethings who will likely never know the $1000-$2000 days many of us knew in the 80's, 90's and 00's. Back in the days when FedExing diskettes across the planet was a normal thing. Take today's 20 and 30-somethings and project forward 20-years, I wouldn't want to trade positions.

Much easier to learn to program and do bigger things today. Professional life (and life in general) is much better today than 25 years ago.

20 years ago: - It was hard to find books on technical subjects. - Computing time was so scarce you had crazy internal chargeback systems. (Though this is sort of coming full circle with AWS) - You had to worry about every level of the stack to do the simplest things. (Weak abstraction) - No meetups or other technically assisted socializing. - In most cities if you wanted to grab a beer, the cost involved coming home smelling like smoke.

Re: Santa, I'll be 55YO in a few days. All I want is a better job. Thanks.

#15

Post by wyldfire »

stblack wrote: post #5

This resonates profoundly. But I'll tell you who I REALLY feel sorry for. I feel sorry for today's 20- and 30-somethings who will likely never know the $1000-$2000 days many of us knew in the 80's, 90's and 00's. Back in the days when FedExing diskettes across the planet was a normal thing. Take today's 20 and 30-somethings and project forward 20-years, I wouldn't want to trade positions.

I'm confused: $1000-2000 days? Are you suggesting that there are "many of you" who pulled down ~250-500k USD per year back in the 80s/90s/00s? Which industry(ies)/career(s) are you referring to?

Re: Santa, I'll be 55YO in a few days. All I want is a better job. Thanks.

#16

Post by sph130 »

Just make sure you stay current with the latest trends, technology, usability, target demographics for your space. Kids out of college and recent grads inherently have this because it is what they learned. So when putting two people side by side regardless of their metrics - looking at what they know. Far often the person who is in the know and up to date rather than complaisant will have the edge. (At least in my experience)

Re: Santa, I'll be 55YO in a few days. All I want is a better job. Thanks.

#18

Post by davelnewton »

rip747 wrote: post #8

That is why i'm working to get all the certifications I can to become a full time DBA (database administrator). For some reason companies want young programmers, but old time database administrators. I guess when it comes to data integrity, experience and being stuck in your ways counts more.

This is at least partially because young people don't want to be DBAs.

Re: Santa, I'll be 55YO in a few days. All I want is a better job. Thanks.

#19

Post by davelnewton »

wyldfire wrote: post #15
stblack wrote: post #5

This resonates profoundly. But I'll tell you who I REALLY feel sorry for. I feel sorry for today's 20- and 30-somethings who will likely never know the $1000-$2000 days many of us knew in the 80's, 90's and 00's. Back in the days when FedExing diskettes across the planet was a normal thing. Take today's 20 and 30-somethings and project forward 20-years, I wouldn't want to trade positions.

I'm confused: $1000-2000 days? Are you suggesting that there are "many of you" who pulled down ~250-500k USD per year back in the 80s/90s/00s? Which industry(ies)/career(s) are you referring to?

It depended... $1k days weren't terribly unusual back then, or now, if you have specific skill sets.

Re: Santa, I'll be 55YO in a few days. All I want is a better job. Thanks.

#20

Post by mud_dauber »

smoyer wrote: post #12
MichaelCrawford wrote: post #2

Me Too. I'll be 51 in a couple months. Age discrimination is widespread in this industry. I get lots of interviews, but quite commonly I find that my interviewer starts finding reasons not to hire me, the very instant they see me in person, and so can see I have grey hair. Discriminating against employees or candidates over 40, for reasons of age, is flatly illegal under US Federal Law, as well as the laws of all the…

I turned 50 last summer and the last time I was looking, I had no problem finding a good job ... perhaps the best job I've ever had. But to survive the interview process, you can't act 50 (or 55 or 51). You need to be current and make it obvious you've kept yourself up-to-date. To a lesser degree you can't look 50 either - I'm fortunate to have been dirty blond when I was younger and my hair doesn't seem to be greyin…

Completely agree. Like you, I have fortunate genes & much younger mindset.
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