Silicon Valley's brutal ageism (Stanford: sales, rent, dorm)

[otterprods]

Originally Posted by Pietro25

Here is a better article on so-called ageism in Silicon Valley.http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/16/ma...blem.html?_r=1

I stopped when he used "fails" as the opposite of "going public" because obviously he knows nothing.

[pixelperfect3]

Originally Posted by krudmonk

I suspect this is another phenomenon attributable to the Frisco spin-off of "Silicon Valley." Bros don't want dads salting their work game.

This exactly. Though this attitude has probably existed in Palo Alto startups around Stanford.

But eventually all of these companies have to grow up (if they survive that is). I work for one of the "older" big companies where none of this nonsense will be tolerated. I doubt it is tolerated at Facebook either which has some of the most talented (and experienced) people in the industry working at it (FB has gone through its frat bro-ish phase).

And yes the NY Times article is probably a better read.

[wsugrad03]

Age discrimination probably only affects the "personality factor" of interview loops. If you demonstrate awkwardness about being interviewed by someone 20 years younger than yourself, then it'll show. They're not just interviewing your technical skill, they're deciding if they want to work with you every day. The primary reason why older software engineers don't remain IC's is because they don't keep their skills up. Technology changes very fast. Lots of startups are all about script kiddies and open source. Learn them. Block off a few hours a week of your free time to tinker. Write an app in your free time. Start up an AWS free account and hack around with it. Bottom line is keep your skills relevant and you will never cease to be attractive to tech companies. If you don't have a masters degree, it does help make you stand out on your resume. But bottom line is to network and connect with peers, and keep your skills sharp and you can probably work as long as you want.

[ccm123]

I agree with this. One of our engineers we hired is 62 years old. She looks it, but can "code" with people 30 years her junior.

Originally Posted by wsugrad03

Age discrimination probably only affects the "personality factor" of interview loops. If you demonstrate awkwardness about being interviewed by someone 20 years younger than yourself, then it'll show. They're not just interviewing your technical skill, they're deciding if they want to work with you every day. The primary reason why older software engineers don't remain IC's is because they don't keep their skills up. Technology changes very fast. Lots of startups are all about script kiddies and open source. Learn them. Block off a few hours a week of your free time to tinker. Write an app in your free time. Start up an AWS free account and hack around with it. Bottom line is keep your skills relevant and you will never cease to be attractive to tech companies. If you don't have a masters degree, it does help make you stand out on your resume. But bottom line is to network and connect with peers, and keep your skills sharp and you can probably work as long as you want.

[Heidi60]

Originally Posted by LexusNexus

Besides the severe and insidious form of racism against blacks and Hispanics in Silicon Valley's tech industry, AGEISM is rampant. Thoughts? Experiences?

Silicon's Valley's Brutal Ageism | New Republic

Yes, there is a lot of ageism here which is seen when companies down size giving those 55 and older more incentive to leave with a better "package".

For people who are unable to compete, there are many jobs where non-white bias, or race based hiring criteria, are used which would result in a better outcome for the job seeker.

[ggcd951]

i think ageism is a worry because i think it is trend in any industry anywhere. However in my company i know a lot of ppl with 60 something doing just quite well. Some of them are very pleassant to work with. One good thing I like most about older people is they tend to do a very quality stuff and rarely they skimp over details like many youngsters do and stuff they do pays off over time. However lot of them I got very frustrated with younger and fast moving folks (not all of them but commonly) some of the always makes mistakes,cant even read and write basic english sentence despite their graduate degress.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

It really depends on which area of tech. The Web 3.0 / aps / mobile sector may have more ageism than infrastructure / computers / hardware.

[Pietro25]

Originally Posted by otterprods

I stopped when he used "fails" as the opposite of "going public" because obviously he knows nothing.

"He" is a "she," for one thing. The author is a woman. This was the cover story in the New York Times magazine a few weeks back. I suggest you give it a second chance.

[otterprods]

Originally Posted by Pietro25

"He" is a "she," for one thing. The author is a woman. This was the cover story in the New York Times magazine a few weeks back. I suggest you give it a second chance.

Does it matter what gender the author was or where it was located in which pub? I don't have time to read everything you read and vice versa. This one was not worth the time to me. Summarize if you want, but I'm not going back and reading all that just to appease you… no disrespect intended.

[Azmordean]

I'll just jump in to say of course startups are a youth culture. Most folks over 40 - especially if they have a family - aren't eager to sign up for long hours, low or no pay, no stability, and high risk. As people age they crave stability and steady employment more and more for a variety of reasons.

The only exception would be someone independently wealthy doing a startup but that's not most startups.

I'm fairly young (33) and single, and I wouldn't do a startup, because I just don't have the personality / interest for it. I prefer steady employment.