5 ms·

What I've noticed in tech is that the further you are from the [being polite] demographic core -- the better you need to be. In the context of this discussion,

What I've noticed in tech is that the further you are from the [being polite] demographic core -- the better you need to be. In the context of this discussion, there's room for you as an older employee, but the way it seems to work is you need to be really really good at your jobs. Because when you make the inevitable human mistakes, the number of years you've been at it is always brought up.

amyjess 11y ago
I have to wonder how much of that is discrimination and how much of that is salary mechanics. More experienced people demand higher salaries. When I apply for a new job, I expect a higher salary than my old job, and I'll use my experience to justify it. Typically, older people have more experience and thus ask for a salary to match. When you're asking for a high salary, companies generally want to know that you're good enough to justify that salary. Companies aren't going to put that kind of pressure on a fresh-out-of-college 22-year-old because such a person is going to be working for peanuts.
- aianus 11y ago
  > Companies aren't going to put that kind of pressure on a fresh-out-of-college 22-year-old because such a person is going to be working for peanuts. 22-year-olds don't work for peanuts in SV. They make double the median family income in the US before stock.
  - amyjess 11y ago
    Still, even with such an elevated baseline, I'd imagine that somebody with 10 years of experience can expect to make a lot more than somebody with no experience and that somebody with 20 years of experience can expect to make a lot more than somebody with 10 years of experience.
  - s73v3r 11y ago
    We're speaking relatively. In the context of the conversation, it makes absolutely no difference what someone working in a McDonalds in rural Wisconsin makes. We're talking about the cost of engineers. And compared to people who do have experience, they're working for cheap.
    - aianus 11y ago
      It's somewhat irrelevant how much money you're being paid between $100k and $300k. I know from experience there's not enough free time to spend that much money anyways so unless I'm getting a part-time job or I'm trying to retire early or something it's not a priority. After $100k I'm going to start looking at other priorities like equity, how interesting the work is, food and ping pong tables and so on. It wouldn't make any sense to further pad my 401k or whatever at the expense of my day-to-day happiness.
      - s73v3r 11y ago
        Depends on where you live. In the Bay Area, the difference between $100k and even just $150k is quite a bit in terms of housing.

amyjess 11y ago

I have to wonder how much of that is discrimination and how much of that is salary mechanics. More experienced people demand higher salaries. When I apply for a new job, I expect a higher salary than my old job, and I'll use my experience to justify it. Typically, older people have more experience and thus ask for a salary to match. When you're asking for a high salary, companies generally want to know that you're good enough to justify that salary. Companies aren't going to put that kind of pressure on a fresh-out-of-college 22-year-old because such a person is going to be working for peanuts.

aianus 11y ago
> Companies aren't going to put that kind of pressure on a fresh-out-of-college 22-year-old because such a person is going to be working for peanuts. 22-year-olds don't work for peanuts in SV. They make double the median family income in the US before stock.
- amyjess 11y ago
  Still, even with such an elevated baseline, I'd imagine that somebody with 10 years of experience can expect to make a lot more than somebody with no experience and that somebody with 20 years of experience can expect to make a lot more than somebody with 10 years of experience.
- s73v3r 11y ago
  We're speaking relatively. In the context of the conversation, it makes absolutely no difference what someone working in a McDonalds in rural Wisconsin makes. We're talking about the cost of engineers. And compared to people who do have experience, they're working for cheap.
  - aianus 11y ago
    It's somewhat irrelevant how much money you're being paid between $100k and $300k. I know from experience there's not enough free time to spend that much money anyways so unless I'm getting a part-time job or I'm trying to retire early or something it's not a priority. After $100k I'm going to start looking at other priorities like equity, how interesting the work is, food and ping pong tables and so on. It wouldn't make any sense to further pad my 401k or whatever at the expense of my day-to-day happiness.
    - s73v3r 11y ago
      Depends on where you live. In the Bay Area, the difference between $100k and even just $150k is quite a bit in terms of housing.