Looking for a Job Is Tough

Devs in there 40's and 50's are probably the most valuable devs on earth. We grew up with computers and had to adapt to our rapidly changing industry.

I suspect we will see startup founders trending older if it isn't already happening. Companies stuck in the old way of thinking that older is slower will probably be disrupted in the next recession.

> I suspect we will see startup founders trending older if it isn't already happening

Anecdotally, I think it already is. Part of it is simply because the younger you are, the less risk you can take with the cost of housing the way that it is. Older people/Millenials often have housing security and can take more risks this way, plus the other factors you raised.

Can't speak to whether that's universally true, but it's something I've been seeing: including people in their late 30s to mid 40s leaving cushy well paying corporate jobs to try founder life: they have big nest eggs from said previous jobs, so why not!

> Devs in there 40's and 50's are probably the most valuable devs on earth.

Over 50 seeker here (25+ years experience, first IC then mgmt). All of hiring managers I've dealt with this time around are at least 10 years my junior, and they disagree with you. They view me as a risk (higher compensation, less "hungry", higher "flight risk") and prefer people their age or younger. Don't call it ageism though, that's just how the world works :(

We older people have less mobility and less willing to take risk because if the bet doesn't pay off there's not much time to make up for it (younger folks can go back to be an FTE or start another thing). Also, people have kids later in life and you have to pay their insane college bills when you're in your 50s or even 60s.

If you see more older people starting companies it's because we can't find employment and have to find a way to be productive somehow...

They want people to be passionate about whatever but in my experience the younger guys/gals are so preoccupied with themselves or some process that they spend endless hours discussing it instead of just getting some shit done.

As someone similar age, if I was job-seeking like you, then if a younger potential boss gave these vibes, I'd be up-front. Seems to me salary can't increase for ever. Sure, more experience may lead to better design decisions which save employers a fortune. However, it's kind of opaque. "Best devs on earth" may be true, but doesn't mean its obvious to management. Maybe they won't pay a higher salary immediately than to a 30-yr-old, but they'll give you a reward later if they can see how much you helped them. Flight risk? Ask 'em about it, how can you ease that fear - generally that comes down to career history - if you look like a job-hopper that can be a problem but its not specifically age-related, right? Less hungry? Well again not sure that's age-related. If they're a sweatshop I suppose they might feel they can push younger ones around more, but who wants to work there anyway? Good luck :)

From what I can see, kids out of college, are being paid more than I ever made, at the peak of my career (and they seem to have less to show for it).

Speaking only for myself, I would have been fine, taking a lower salary, if the work (and work environment) were interesting to me.

I also would not have been interested in flitting around, looking for pay bumps. I was already set.

In fact, I suspect that someone like me (and I am sure there are many others, much like me, and likely, far more qualified), could be an absolute Godsend to a startup.

In my experience, its more the older ones that "just don't care that much about winning an argument at work", because we've learned over time to choose our battles, and "the healthy art of not giving a s**" . Maybe come back in 10 yrs time and see if you still think this? ;)

> Maybe come back in 10 yrs time and see if you still think this? ;)

No, I don't care about proving things to you

It's interesting how much stereotyping is happening in these replies.

The fact is that there's nothing unique about any age group, and the only difference between them is their birth dates. Intragenerational differences are always larger than intergenerational differences. In any age group, there are varying degrees of competence, varying degrees of attitude, varying degrees of personal circumstances (e.g., home, family).

Ageism is treating a person solely as member of a group rather than as an individual. You simply can't accurately generalize based on a job candidate's age. Anyone who claims, "In my experience [members of age group] are mostly like this..." is putting forth weak anecdotal data that is practically useless and totally unscientific.

No fool like an old fool.

I think the OP was referring to experience not age. Older devs have seen the landscape change so much and if it makes full circle again that experience will pay off.

> Maybe they won't pay a higher salary immediately than to a 30-yr-old, but they'll give you a reward later if they can see how much you helped them

I don't think most companies behave this way. Maybe at one point they did, but I find the reward for doing great work is "That's why we hired you"

Yeah maybe you get a yearly raise and a bonus but it never is big enough to make up for taking a lower salary

Experience can be valuable, but it's not automatically valuable. Plenty of people completely fail to learn from their long experience. Others learn very quickly from their limited experience.

The paragon is talent plus experience plus willingness to learn from experience. Admittedly, more older devs than younger devs will have this combination, but "social promotion" is no guarantee of success.

Yeah, it's not automatic. Nowadays it seems that experience is not only ignored, but almost discouraged.

Complaining about big egos then come back with that reply...interesting approach.