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Is there really widespread ageism, or can that be explained by there being 6x more programmers now that 20yrs ago, by the high pay allowing early retirement for

by hansvm 6y ago

Is there really widespread ageism, or can that be explained by there being 6x more programmers now that 20yrs ago, by the high pay allowing early retirement for those who want it, and by people with more experience self selecting away from "opportunities" which might succeed in attracting new grads who don't know their worth? Not to say that specific instances of ageism don't exist or aren't a problem, but in the context of "planning for it in my career" I haven't seen evidence that would make malice more likely than other factors for tech's age distribution. Does that evidence exist?

burnthrow 6y ago
Nobody said it's malicious. In this industry, every year of experience has diminishing real returns. That is to say, I'm embarrassed by my relative effectiveness many years ago as a new dev. It was mostly thanks to defaulting to the latest and greatest tools. The bits of wisdom and trickery accumulated over the years certainly help, but they don't really move the needle in a way that would justify substantially higher pay, or consideration over younger, less jaded/burned out candidates. The industry's most commonly used CS knowledge can easily be acquired in a year. Overall it's a pretty lousy line of work, but it beats being an Uber/Instacart serf... what a world.
- darkwater 6y ago
  I don't relate, or I'm not fully understanding your point. In my opinion, experience in the tech world helps leveling with more gifted brains. There might be a complicated concept that a brilliant brain will master immediately or after 1/2/5 years while a good-enough but not-so-brilliant brain will need 5/10/20 years to master it. So, since not every company is FAANG that can appeal to and are constantly looking for those brilliant brains, there are many companies in which experience will help you to improve your position and salary.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]

by hansvm 6y ago

burnthrow 6y ago

Nobody said it's malicious. In this industry, every year of experience has diminishing real returns. That is to say, I'm embarrassed by my relative effectiveness many years ago as a new dev. It was mostly thanks to defaulting to the latest and greatest tools. The bits of wisdom and trickery accumulated over the years certainly help, but they don't really move the needle in a way that would justify substantially higher pay, or consideration over younger, less jaded/burned out candidates. The industry's most commonly used CS knowledge can easily be acquired in a year. Overall it's a pretty lousy line of work, but it beats being an Uber/Instacart serf... what a world.

darkwater 6y ago
I don't relate, or I'm not fully understanding your point. In my opinion, experience in the tech world helps leveling with more gifted brains. There might be a complicated concept that a brilliant brain will master immediately or after 1/2/5 years while a good-enough but not-so-brilliant brain will need 5/10/20 years to master it. So, since not every company is FAANG that can appeal to and are constantly looking for those brilliant brains, there are many companies in which experience will help you to improve your position and salary.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]