4 ms·

This is an interesting question and one I've thought about a lot too. I'm 37 and an experienced developer/entrepreneur. I've been self-employed for 12+ years bu

This is an interesting question and one I've thought about a lot too. I'm 37 and an experienced developer/entrepreneur. I've been self-employed for 12+ years but if I ever had to "get a real job", it's something to think about. First off, remember that it's not legal for a US employer to ask your age. They can only ask if you're over 18. Of course, if you want to be sly about it, you'll need to craft your resume carefully (putting the year you graduated from high-school or college can tip off). Also, your looks may or may not belie your age (I have no gray hair and can look late-20s if I shave my beard). Also, I think the biggest (perceived) issues are that either (a) employers don't want to hire older developers because their experience demands higher pay or (b) they want younger developers who can work insane hours. I must say, I don't know if these are generally true (they aren't when I hire people). But for you, (a) shouldn't be an issue. You're a new developer so you probably are fine with a entry-level salary.

geoffschmidt 14y ago
Two other issues that seem to come up in the bay area are "culture fit" (which is sometimes a euphemism for "we want to have fun at work and it doesn't sound very fun to hang out with someone who is old") and "trajectory" (which is a euphemism for "if you were really an A player, you'd have a senior role by now; since you don't, there must be something wrong with you, even if we can't figure out precisely what it is in an interview.") That you've just started out should logically eliminate the second concern, but it doesn't really, since it's a stereotype and people are not rational about stereotypes. It's probably best to avoid companies that think about hiring in the way that they'd think about selecting frat pledges, in favor of companies that think about hiring in terms of increasing their capacity to get work done. But if you really wanted to get a job at the former kind of company, my advice is (1) try to build a rapport with your interviewers somehow, so that they look up to you and think you're cool, rather than pity you for being old and wanting to be let into their treehouse, (2) contextualize yourself as having gotten really excited about programming all of a sudden, after a few decades of kicking ass in other fields, and then having made a lot of progress in programming very quickly. That's something that anyone can respect.
- rburgosnavas 14y ago
  The "culture fit" is definitely an aspect that I consider intimidating, and yes, I live in the Bay Area. I know it shouldn't be intimidating in my case because I think I'm good at accommodating myself to an environment pretty well.
T-hawk 14y ago
> First off, remember that it's not legal for a US employer to ask your age. Just to clarify on the legal distinction: They can ask, and you can answer or not. What's illegal is making an employment decision based on age. Of course, the most foolproof way to prove to a belligerent labor attorney that age did not drive an employment decision is to never possess the age information in the first place. So nobody asks, and any company big enough to have an HR department internally forbids it from asking about age or any other protected factor like national origin and religion. But it's not illegal simply to ask. Also, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act only protects workers over 40. 37 is actually fair game for discrimination. Citation for both of the above: http://www.eeoc.gov/facts/age.html http://www.eeoc.gov/facts/age.html

geoffschmidt 14y ago

Two other issues that seem to come up in the bay area are "culture fit" (which is sometimes a euphemism for "we want to have fun at work and it doesn't sound very fun to hang out with someone who is old") and "trajectory" (which is a euphemism for "if you were really an A player, you'd have a senior role by now; since you don't, there must be something wrong with you, even if we can't figure out precisely what it is in an interview.") That you've just started out should logically eliminate the second concern, but it doesn't really, since it's a stereotype and people are not rational about stereotypes. It's probably best to avoid companies that think about hiring in the way that they'd think about selecting frat pledges, in favor of companies that think about hiring in terms of increasing their capacity to get work done. But if you really wanted to get a job at the former kind of company, my advice is (1) try to build a rapport with your interviewers somehow, so that they look up to you and think you're cool, rather than pity you for being old and wanting to be let into their treehouse, (2) contextualize yourself as having gotten really excited about programming all of a sudden, after a few decades of kicking ass in other fields, and then having made a lot of progress in programming very quickly. That's something that anyone can respect.

rburgosnavas 14y ago
The "culture fit" is definitely an aspect that I consider intimidating, and yes, I live in the Bay Area. I know it shouldn't be intimidating in my case because I think I'm good at accommodating myself to an environment pretty well.

T-hawk 14y ago

> First off, remember that it's not legal for a US employer to ask your age. Just to clarify on the legal distinction: They can ask, and you can answer or not. What's illegal is making an employment decision based on age. Of course, the most foolproof way to prove to a belligerent labor attorney that age did not drive an employment decision is to never possess the age information in the first place. So nobody asks, and any company big enough to have an HR department internally forbids it from asking about age or any other protected factor like national origin and religion. But it's not illegal simply to ask. Also, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act only protects workers over 40. 37 is actually fair game for discrimination. Citation for both of the above: http://www.eeoc.gov/facts/age.html http://www.eeoc.gov/facts/age.html