3 ms·

To any older guys out there who think they might be looking in the near future -- my advice is to learn the "current stack", or really, just to keep up to date

To any older guys out there who think they might be looking in the near future -- my advice is to learn the "current stack", or really, just to keep up to date and messing with the new technologies that come out. My story: A couple years ago I started job searching, at 38. I had been at my current job for 5 years. I had a hell of a time getting anyone to bite. I had a dozen phone interviews that I felt went well, but no callbacks. This stroke me as odd, as when I had been searching last time, I had to fight off people and had multiple offers. I noticed a trend in the jobs I was applying for. Kubernetes, Node, C#, etc. Things I didn't have on my resume, although I knew I could learn with ease. But your prospective hirer doesn't want to hear how good you are at learning their stack. There are enough candidates to choose from that already know what they need, and I was told that more than once. The jobs I was applying for were the same description, same mechanics and job duties I had been doing for 15 years already, but since I didn't work with the latest stack -- too bad. I eventually got lucky and found a job that was transitioning from what I already knew to one of these newer stacks.

bproven 9y ago
Yep - biggest key is stay current. Change to new langs / systems if needed so you can stay in the "the most desirable" camp. Don't marry yourself to a technology. This is especially critical IME as you get over 40. I learned the hard way :(
scardine 9y ago
Python is hot, right? I'm doing Python for the last 10 years and even landed one patch in smtplib. Data science is booming and I have 25 years into ETL. I'm active in the local Python meetups - my last talk was about the new data classes in Python 3.7 (currently beta so I can't possibly be more up to date). Some white hair over my face would hint at my real age if I let them grow for a few days but otherwise I don't look 47. I commute by bicycle (13 milles every day). I spend weekends on hackathons just for the fun. I'm lean and fast both physically and mentally. But when you are near 50, good luck finding a good position. Age prejudice is a real problem in our industry.

bproven 9y ago

Yep - biggest key is stay current. Change to new langs / systems if needed so you can stay in the "the most desirable" camp. Don't marry yourself to a technology. This is especially critical IME as you get over 40. I learned the hard way :(

scardine 9y ago

Python is hot, right? I'm doing Python for the last 10 years and even landed one patch in smtplib. Data science is booming and I have 25 years into ETL. I'm active in the local Python meetups - my last talk was about the new data classes in Python 3.7 (currently beta so I can't possibly be more up to date). Some white hair over my face would hint at my real age if I let them grow for a few days but otherwise I don't look 47. I commute by bicycle (13 milles every day). I spend weekends on hackathons just for the fun. I'm lean and fast both physically and mentally. But when you are near 50, good luck finding a good position. Age prejudice is a real problem in our industry.