I'm going to apologize ahead of time. this might be a ramble.
63 year old white guy with little hair and a lifelong beard that is now white. A tad overweight as well. I feel for so many people expressing angst about ageism. I've seen it elsewhere but not where I work now.
I suspect that at the faster growing companies and companies in tech centers, mostly on the coasts, see more pronounced ageism.
My last job was at a bank in Richmond VA and there was clear ageism in IT when I got their. I moved to compliance from IT for two years and I was very successful and never observed ageism.
At 53 I moved to a web development manager and developer role in Higher Ed. I took a gigantic pay cut, if you factor in bonuses and options to work in Higher Ed. But I got to send my oldest to college at a selective school for free. A $200K after tax benefit.
I don't look back. My life is so much better now with a 40 hour work week and being in control 100% on how we architect our web and backend eco-system. I spend more than 40 hours because I love learning but I choose when, where and what I learn and work on after 40 hours.
I read these comments from people that are 36, 40, 40+ and shake my head. That is not old. 63 is not even old. I plan on working till I am at least 67. I love my job and I especially love the people I work with.
I find these days I spend less time coding and I end up with better applications because I think through the design before coding.
I'm going to ask around in Richmond VA and see what ageism exists in industry here and report back.
Keep learning, try as hard as you can to stay in shape and engage in critical thinking. Good luck to each of you in staying employed and staying happy.
Absolutely right. In my job I find that my seniority gives me time to think more however. It depends on your circumstance and the work culture and boss relationship.
I report to the CIO and he has little need to know details. He cares about long term progress and the big picture. He could care less about how we get there as long as we are taking care of people and doing it honestly.
Thanks buddy! 50+ here and optimistic I can remained gainfully employed, but nervous about it. It's been my experience as well that the kind of companies you might see parodied on "Silicon Valley" have a more pronounced age bias, but there are lots of other places that need IT/web and have no such issues.
I was in a room full of developers when I read aloud the story about the guy who started oldgeekjobs.com, who defined old geeks as over 35. The room erupted with the loudest "F U" I've ever heard.
It was both. With bonuses and options + salary I took about a 50% pay cut. My hours went from an average of maybe 70 / week to 40/week. My kids, now grown, thought I was a grump. Now they enjoy me being around. Same for my wife. Mostly importantly I was having health issues that less hours and less stress allowed me to get under control.
As I said, I have never looked back. I don't miss the money because I don't miss the stress.
It's called compensation for a reason. Sounds like you were compensated for missing out on your family and for trading years of healthy life. Not so tempting when phrased like this, but we often only realise after it becomes "normal".
Also for many there is not much choice. Sounds like you had a top 5% job. Could you exist well without the situation your former life gave you, such as owning your own home and not paying rent. Or would you be forced back into a bad family life to provide for that family?
EDIT: I'm having to reply here as I've hit the fake HN "you're submitting too fast" after doing 2 or 3 posts. The truculent censorship on this site when one hits specific topics sucks.
epalmer: Ok, good for you, and congratulations in finding your equilibrium!
I do worry about aging out of this industry and my long-term plan is pretty similar to the path you have taken. My hope is that I can participate in the agency/startup ecosystem for another 10 years before I have to find something else to do. Hopefully that will still be in technology, and will probably be in Higher Ed or at a Nonprofit for a less money but more intrinsic rewards.
I haven't observed specific instances of ageism towards me or others (people being passed over for promotions or treated differently than younger employees), but I also haven't worked with many people 50+ since I started in this sector. I'm not sure how much of that is that people in that age group are looking for a more balanced lifestyle and how much comes from the companies that do the hiring.
How do you learn a volume from a single statement? It's a good thing to think about: design up front is a tool for increasing quality. But the whole field of agile design is questioning the universality of that. The "volumes" are filled with all of the little things that tell you what is worth thinking about and what isn't. They contain many more statements on the subject.
63 year old white guy with little hair and a lifelong beard that is now white. A tad overweight as well. I feel for so many people expressing angst about ageism. I've seen it elsewhere but not where I work now.
I suspect that at the faster growing companies and companies in tech centers, mostly on the coasts, see more pronounced ageism.
My last job was at a bank in Richmond VA and there was clear ageism in IT when I got their. I moved to compliance from IT for two years and I was very successful and never observed ageism.
At 53 I moved to a web development manager and developer role in Higher Ed. I took a gigantic pay cut, if you factor in bonuses and options to work in Higher Ed. But I got to send my oldest to college at a selective school for free. A $200K after tax benefit.
I don't look back. My life is so much better now with a 40 hour work week and being in control 100% on how we architect our web and backend eco-system. I spend more than 40 hours because I love learning but I choose when, where and what I learn and work on after 40 hours.
I read these comments from people that are 36, 40, 40+ and shake my head. That is not old. 63 is not even old. I plan on working till I am at least 67. I love my job and I especially love the people I work with.
I find these days I spend less time coding and I end up with better applications because I think through the design before coding.
I'm going to ask around in Richmond VA and see what ageism exists in industry here and report back.
Keep learning, try as hard as you can to stay in shape and engage in critical thinking. Good luck to each of you in staying employed and staying happy.