131–140 of 242 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't think he meant that upper management gave "advanced age" as the written reason for rejection.
That doesn't matter, any more than a "gentlemen's agreement" to not hire any black people matters. All it takes is a demonstrable history of rejecting older candidates.
This post is touching on two issues that are somewhat related but different: 1. Finding ANY job when you're 60 is hard; 2. Engineers (who are still engineers) at 40+ will often be passed over in favour of twentysomethings. Engineering is such a young industry that I'm not sure we've really faced (1) yet (since the number of people who started engineering in the 70s is but a drop in the ocean compared to the number in…
> Is it an example of ageism if someone who is 45 can't find a job when what they know is Ada, Cobol and Forth? Um, I'm 54 and the languages of my 20's were C, C++, etc. I also fairly regularly get calls from recruiters. > So yes, you either need to find a job that doesn't change (eg a plumber or a teacher) or you need to constantly battle to maintain relevancy in a fast-changing industry or you need to become master…
Do people really think if you're 45 you worked in Cobol?
This post is touching on two issues that are somewhat related but different: 1. Finding ANY job when you're 60 is hard; 2. Engineers (who are still engineers) at 40+ will often be passed over in favour of twentysomethings. Engineering is such a young industry that I'm not sure we've really faced (1) yet (since the number of people who started engineering in the 70s is but a drop in the ocean compared to the number in…
This entire thread is based on the following:
"I saw this comment left on a Wall Street Journal article:"
So in other words somebody made a comment.
A comment!
Not a WSJ story even, or a story in a b newspaper or, but a blog comment.
Add: I mean if someone had posed an "Ask HN" question and everybody gives their thoughts (anecdotal or otherwise) that's fine. But this???
Add: With the resulting suggestion, once again based on a blog comment taken as being true, authentic, researched and validated: "Do your future self a favor, find another occupation."
This post is touching on two issues that are somewhat related but different: 1. Finding ANY job when you're 60 is hard; 2. Engineers (who are still engineers) at 40+ will often be passed over in favour of twentysomethings. Engineering is such a young industry that I'm not sure we've really faced (1) yet (since the number of people who started engineering in the 70s is but a drop in the ocean compared to the number in…
In an industry like O&G or energy experience is highly valued. When you have you have potentially billions of dollars on the line and many peoples lives with an oil platform you want someone who has done it before. In tech you are trying to make something no one has done before so you want the young hungry engineer.
My experience indicated that they were planning to use too many "new things" simultaneously. If any one beta-level technology failed, the whole project would fail. My Plan B was to essentially solve the main problem it was meant to solve with a minimal core built with tools we knew would work. Put that online on time, then incrementally upgrade features using the new technologies.
Since my group would need some of the services of this software project, I went off and built part of Plan B myself (the part covering what our group would need) as a secret side project using old fuddy-duddy technologies that worked but weren't new, exciting, and unknown. When the 90-day project wasn't ready on Day 90, I put my own online. It worked perfectly. This VP and her minions were angry about it. "It demonstrated a lack of faith in her team."
Two YEARS later, their 90-day Plan A finally shipped. She and the CIO never forgave me, though. I, the old guy, had used 80/20 to deliver the core of what was needed on the day they said it was needed, and I did it alone. Still, they remained convinced that "young, hungry" engineers were more likely to "be on board" with projects like the one they designed, and that was what mattered.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Okay. I don't know European law, but in the U.S. it's explicitly illegal. Ever notice how the flight attendants on U.S. airlines are mostly in their late 30s to 50s nowadays? The airlines learned a very expensive lesson there.
I doubt it's legal across Europe either. Then again, turning down applicants with foreign-sounding names is illegal also, yet statistically you'd have at least 10:1 chance of getting called for interview with "native" name.
This post is touching on two issues that are somewhat related but different: 1. Finding ANY job when you're 60 is hard; 2. Engineers (who are still engineers) at 40+ will often be passed over in favour of twentysomethings. Engineering is such a young industry that I'm not sure we've really faced (1) yet (since the number of people who started engineering in the 70s is but a drop in the ocean compared to the number in…
> Is it an example of ageism if someone who is 45 can't find a job when what they know is Ada, Cobol and Forth? Um, I'm 54 and the languages of my 20's were C, C++, etc. I also fairly regularly get calls from recruiters. > So yes, you either need to find a job that doesn't change (eg a plumber or a teacher) or you need to constantly battle to maintain relevancy in a fast-changing industry or you need to become master…
I've witnessed the exact opposite. My father stayed an engineer when most of his peers became managers; many of them became unhappy over time, and quite a few died from heart attacks before reaching 60. OTOH my father, now in retirement, still occasionally works as a freelancer, because he still enjoys the job, and his skill is in demand.
My father stayed an engineer when most of his peers became managers; many of them became unhappy over time, and quite a few died from heart attacks before reaching 60. Yeah, I realized that I disliked management (the concept) when I realized that managing is, in most cases, just as bad as being managed.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
'They talk about "graduation date".' Good luck with that if someone files a suit.
Hey, I never said I'm a fan of that behavior. I'm against it. I feel like being a jerk to older people is just asking karma to kick you in the ass. Except for those who die young, which is a rarity at this point, everyone will get old.
This post is touching on two issues that are somewhat related but different: 1. Finding ANY job when you're 60 is hard; 2. Engineers (who are still engineers) at 40+ will often be passed over in favour of twentysomethings. Engineering is such a young industry that I'm not sure we've really faced (1) yet (since the number of people who started engineering in the 70s is but a drop in the ocean compared to the number in…
> Is it an example of ageism if someone who is 45 can't find a job when what they know is Ada, Cobol and Forth? Um, I'm 54 and the languages of my 20's were C, C++, etc. I also fairly regularly get calls from recruiters. > So yes, you either need to find a job that doesn't change (eg a plumber or a teacher) or you need to constantly battle to maintain relevancy in a fast-changing industry or you need to become master…
Not everyone has a wikipedia article :)
I'm not buying it. I'm about to turn 50 - doing better work than ever and more in demand. The tools today are so good compared to 5-10 years ago. Now I have these awesome tools, and understand sales/marketing/management/finance. ps - could I get a job as a developer? probably not. but there are other (better) alternatives.
I turn 41 next month and have been a developer for the two decades that I have been in IT. A 50 year old up to date on the latest tools seems to be the rare exception. The rule at my current employer seems to be after hitting 50-55 that they really have their eye set on retirement. Learning a new skillset has such low dividends that they don't believe it is worthwhile. They show up to work right on time at 8 am, they…