50 possible still

New / Eng
ncc-1701

New Eng

PRE
Yahoo, Google
ncc-1701
Dec 5, 2017 41 Comments

I have held many roles and positions (from startup CEO , but mostly a software engineer at some known startups and known big companies)
Lived in SV 12 years while at Sun and Yahoo and few startups.

Would anyone hire a 51 year old to just be a senior engineer anymore? I just like to Code, sans bull, don’t want to be a VP (been there).

Just like Tuttle in the movie Brazil.

I had a bad experience at Slack. Passed coding assignment (did 2 across different roles I had background in) , 3 phone screens, but after the on-site got a “no real specific reason other then the fit”....there wasn’t a ton of depth on the other side of the table. Lots of “empathy” questions which I guess is something a 25 year old really is concerned with now? :) everyone asked about it. But no one wanted to hear the ugly stories you see after 20 years in software.

Same at Apple. Had an on-site after 3 calls and one coding pass . Was honestly super grilled by the team for a pretty lame front end type role. Manager gave me positive indication at end of day , then met Director. Didn’t really stumble on any particular question.

Then the email “wasn’t a good fit”

I hate to whine and blame diversity but can’t see a single reason other then average age was 30 in both of these teams.

My friend at Apple said it’s better to find a more “mature” team....a friend at Slack said “if you are white and over 40 they have diversity quotas so you will rarely get in”

So I guess now I’m wondering how much BS there is, if it’s even worth the effort if I can pass all the coderpad stuff but once I get on-site it’s a “who is this old guy and why does he still just want to Code”

Just like a stable company and cool people. Not chasing any easy money.

Where to turn? (Btw both of the above even though I had contacts I wanted to see how my resume stacked up and they were online non referrals and got the responses)

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TOP 41 Comments
  • I would love to hire more expericed enginners. We hired a guy on my team who was probably around 70. The guy was awesome. Yes 70. He did the job and solved most complex problems. He retired recently but we begged him to stay.
    Dec 5, 2017 0
  • Google
    anutr 🏅

    Go to company page Google

    anutr 🏅
    Try Google. Plenty of ex-CTOs being perennial (but well paid) L5s.
    Dec 5, 2017 2
  • I'd love to hire you
    Dec 5, 2017 0
  • Etsy / Design
    eycJ86

    Go to company page Etsy Design

    PRE
    SoundCloud, NASDAQ
    BIO
    💯💯💯
    eycJ86
    I'm curious regarding the kinds of questions you were asked about empathy and the answers you gave. I know some older male programmers that were challenging to work with because they were quite condescending and felt like they knew it all. I'd ask non-white, non-male friends for opinions as it's easy to end up in situations where people are enabling behavior that doesn't fly anymore.

    Additionally, it sounds like you shared some serious baggage about tech culture from the past 20+ years in the Slack interview. I wonder if they were concerned that some of the experiences you had might affect the way you worked with others. I've learned not to talk too much about the terrible environments I've worked in unless it's to provide constructive criticism about tech culture.
    Dec 5, 2017 4
    • Google
      tcCd20

      Go to company page Google

      tcCd20
      It's sad what's happening with ageism in tech. I'm in my thirties and wonder if I need to switch to management for the reasons above.
      Based on your comment above you didn't say anything that should be a red flag. On the other hand you also didn't portray an exemplary story that impresses an interviewer. For example how did the actions you took benefit the organisation? Ex if you end up mentoring the junior engineer and as a result they matured and became a great asset for the organisation. In this case I think a better story should have been picked. This is an opportunity to show case your best work/impact. Stating that junior engineer was fired anyway doesn't add value to what you said. In some cases it might be negative as well if you were interviewing for a technical lead position where you need to coach and mentor.
      Dec 6, 2017
    • Google
      tcCd20

      Go to company page Google

      tcCd20
      In fact stating that the engineer was fired anyway might have come across as cynical or bitter. I wouldn't have taken it that way based on the way the comment was written but I wasn't in the room and have no idea how the interviewer interpreted the answer.
      Dec 6, 2017
  • New / Eng
    fzjsbsbdk

    New Eng

    PRE
    TIAA, Leidos holdings, Accenture, Sprinklr
    fzjsbsbdk
    I'm 39 with 20 years in thos industry and have been dealing with exactly the same thing for the past few years. I chalk it up to ageism above all else at this point.

    "Not a good fit", "you dont have X years with a specific framework", "overqualified", etc I've heard it all.
    Dec 5, 2017 0