4 ms·

This article is incredibly terse and uninformative. Why are older engineers having such a hard time? Are they keeping up with new technologies to remain competi

by jlas 13y ago

This article is incredibly terse and uninformative. Why are older engineers having such a hard time? Are they keeping up with new technologies to remain competitive? What kind of engineering are we even talking about?

kjackson2012 13y ago
The problem of ageism is pretty well documented in engineering, especially software engineering. I'm in my 40s, and I've been programming my entire career. I'm trying to get into management so as to extend my career into my 50s and 60s. The realities are that I likely won't be able to compete against kids 1/2 to 1/3 my age in the next 15 years, so I need to use my experience to my advantage. It's too bad because I would rather just program.
- cunac 13y ago
  why you think you will not be able to compete? I am similar age and really don't see age as issue if you can do the job. Even money is not something you need to compromise
varjag 13y ago
I witnessed three different engineers in two different companies turned down late in the interview process by upper management due to their age. Prior to that I ran the technical part of interview and green-lighted the candidates. The problem is real and when it happens, whatever skill set you have is irrelevant.
- Turing_Machine 13y ago
  Your upper management is playing with fire if the candidates were over forty (at least in the U.S. -- other countries probably vary). That's just as illegal as turning them down because they happened to be female or black.
  - auctiontheory 13y ago
    I don't think he meant that upper management gave "advanced age" as the written reason for rejection.
    - michaelochurch 13y ago
      People never talk about age at work. They talk about "graduation date". If you work in recruiting, you have companies asking that question all the time, "What's his graduation date?" I wonder if there could be a boom, especially with the online options, in mid-40s programmers getting graduate degrees so as to jam the signals. That's what I'll do if I end up facing age discrimination, so long as I can solve the money problem.
      - Turing_Machine 13y ago
        'They talk about "graduation date".' Good luck with that if someone files a suit.
        michaelochurch 13y ago
        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.
        Turing_Machine 13y ago
        Sorry. I wasn't directing it at you specifically.
    - Turing_Machine 13y ago
      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.
clarkm 13y ago
To be fair, this post is just rehashing the point that the blogger (Lion of the Blogosphere, formerly known as HalfSigma) has been making for 5+ years now. He's a Manhattan-based lawyer who really doesn't like software developers, and is constantly warning his readers not to let their kids major in computer science. He cites outsourcing, stagnating wages, lack of long-term career development, and perceived low status as reasons why one should stay away from most things in tech, especially anything that could be conflated with "programming" or "IT" by people outside the tech world. Then again, he doesn't offer any real alternative advice. It's usually some variation of "be rich and work at a non-profit".

by jlas 13y ago

kjackson2012 13y ago

The problem of ageism is pretty well documented in engineering, especially software engineering. I'm in my 40s, and I've been programming my entire career. I'm trying to get into management so as to extend my career into my 50s and 60s. The realities are that I likely won't be able to compete against kids 1/2 to 1/3 my age in the next 15 years, so I need to use my experience to my advantage. It's too bad because I would rather just program.

cunac 13y ago
why you think you will not be able to compete? I am similar age and really don't see age as issue if you can do the job. Even money is not something you need to compromise

varjag 13y ago

I witnessed three different engineers in two different companies turned down late in the interview process by upper management due to their age. Prior to that I ran the technical part of interview and green-lighted the candidates. The problem is real and when it happens, whatever skill set you have is irrelevant.

Turing_Machine 13y ago
Your upper management is playing with fire if the candidates were over forty (at least in the U.S. -- other countries probably vary). That's just as illegal as turning them down because they happened to be female or black.
- auctiontheory 13y ago
  I don't think he meant that upper management gave "advanced age" as the written reason for rejection.
  - michaelochurch 13y ago
    People never talk about age at work. They talk about "graduation date". If you work in recruiting, you have companies asking that question all the time, "What's his graduation date?" I wonder if there could be a boom, especially with the online options, in mid-40s programmers getting graduate degrees so as to jam the signals. That's what I'll do if I end up facing age discrimination, so long as I can solve the money problem.
    - Turing_Machine 13y ago
      'They talk about "graduation date".' Good luck with that if someone files a suit.
      - michaelochurch 13y ago
        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.
        Turing_Machine 13y ago
        Sorry. I wasn't directing it at you specifically.
  - Turing_Machine 13y ago
    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.

clarkm 13y ago

To be fair, this post is just rehashing the point that the blogger (Lion of the Blogosphere, formerly known as HalfSigma) has been making for 5+ years now. He's a Manhattan-based lawyer who really doesn't like software developers, and is constantly warning his readers not to let their kids major in computer science. He cites outsourcing, stagnating wages, lack of long-term career development, and perceived low status as reasons why one should stay away from most things in tech, especially anything that could be conflated with "programming" or "IT" by people outside the tech world. Then again, he doesn't offer any real alternative advice. It's usually some variation of "be rich and work at a non-profit".